Christmas Child
by 3MZoey
Summary: Mac and the JAG staff cope with a surprise visit from a special child from Mac's past. This story is loosely based on "Jaggle Bells," so it's kind of a "What if" it was a child other than Chloe that showed up. Rated T just in case.
1. All I Want For Christmas

**UPDATE: **_I have made an image to go with this story. If you are interested, the link can be found through my profile. ^.^_

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Just borrowing them for fun.

1930 Local time

JAG Headquarters

Harm and Mac were in his office talking about a case that was finishing up, and joking about their boring plans for Christmas. Most of the staff except for Bud, Harriet, Harm, and herself were already gone, trying to beat the bad weather. There was a knock on the door, and they both looked up.

"Uh, Major, there is a little boy here. He claims that he is your son…?" Bud said looking very puzzled.

"A husband wasn't enough of a surprise Mac?" Harm joked, not taking the situation very seriously.

Mac, not looking nearly as amused, went outside the office were she saw the little boy. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.

"Josh, honey, what are you doing here?" Mac questioned lovingly.

"I was looking for you," the little boy looked up at her with a smile.

"Do your grandparents know you're here?"

"No, I wanted to surprise you."

"Mac, who is this little boy?" Harriet prodded.

Mac glanced at her worryingly and then looked back at the boy. "Come on baby, let's go call your grandparents before they panic." Mac picked the little boy up, and carried him on her hip into her office. The eyes of the other staff members curiously followed her in. Mac saw them and drew the blinds. She sat the boy on the edge of her desk, ran her hand through his brownish blonde hair, and picked up the phone.

Out in the bullpen, Harm, Harriet, and Bud were still standing there, looking at the closed door of Mac's office.

"Huh," was all Bud could say.

"Commander, did you know about this?" Harriet questioned curiously.

"No, but I can't say it surprises me. She hid a husband from us for years. God knows what else she hasn't told us about," Harm said.

"Well, we're assuming that he is her son," Bud said, receiving confused looks from Harriet and Harm. "Well, he might just be some kid that she's really close to."

Harm nodded a little, and Harriet cocked her head to the side, both acknowledging that possibility. The trio continued to stand there, speechless, for the next few minutes.

"Are they coming get me?" The little boy questioned Mac with a hint of sadness.

"I talked to them. We decided to have Christmas at my house, is that okay Josh?"

The excitement was apparent on the boy's face. "Yes! Can I stay with you forever?"

"We'll see baby," Mac said, knowing that she would love to have him home, and that his grandparents probably would not mind. "I missed you _so_ much," Mac said as she hugged him an placed a kiss on the top of his head.

"I missed you too mommy."

Mac sank down into her chair. She looked deep in thought, and kind of sad.

"Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing baby. Mommy's friends just don't know about you, and I don't know how to tell them," Mac replied, not expecting the little boy to understand.

"Oh…Mommy?"

"What hon?"

"I am hungry and have to use the bathroom."

Mac smiled at the simplicity of his life. "Okay, baby, come on."

Mac took his hand, and led him out the door. Harm, Harriet, and Bud had resumed their previous activity, but all three looked up when they saw Mac leave her office with the little boy. They didn't move, and they didn't say anything as they watched her lead the boy towards the restroom. A few minutes later, they watched her lead him from the restroom to the kitchen at the end of the hall. Then, a few minutes after that, they watched her lead him from the kitchen to her office, with a box of cereal in his arms.

"Should we say anything?" Harriet pondered.

"No, just give her time," Harm suggested.


	2. If it Wasn't For His Eyes

About an hour later, and after much thought, Mac asked the little boy, "Josh, do you want to go meet mommy's friends?"

"Sure," the boy smiled and said.

Mac smiled back, and took the little boy's hand. She opened the door, and walked into the bullpen, towards Harriet's desk, where Bud was hovering over her, helping her type a number into the computer. Harriet and Bud looked up at Mac. Mac smiled, and glanced towards Harm's office, where he was leaned back in his chair, with his feet propped on his desk. Mac nodded her head, and Harm stood up and walked over.

When she had their attention, she said, "I know this will probably come as a bit of a surprise to you all, but I would like you to meet my son, Joshua Mackenzie Phillips."

"Phillips?" Harm asked, raising his eyebrows, "Not Ragle, or Farrow, or.." He stopped when he saw the hurt and angry glare Mac shot him.

"He's adorable ma'am. How old is he?" Harriet asked, ignoring Harm's comment and her own curiosity about the father.

"He is six," Mac answered, grateful that Harriet changed the subject.

Noticing how little the lighter skinned, fair haired boy looked little like Mac, Harriet said, "If it wasn't for his eyes ma'am…" Harriet's statement trailed off.

Knowing what she was getting at, Mac said, "He looks exactly like his father."

"Except for those eyes ma'am," Bud said, "those are your eyes."

"Well Josh," Harriet started, "I'm Ensign Simms, but you can call me Harriet, and this is Lieutenant Roberts," Harriet said motioning towards her husband.

"Call me Bud, Josh," Bud said with a smile.

"And that tall, mean one over there is Lt Commander Rabb," Mac finished the introductions directing a half smirk to Harm.

Harm rolled his eyes, "Please, just call me Harm."

A little intimidated, Josh shyly said, "Hi."

All four adults smiled down at him. Josh yawned.

"You tired baby?" Mac crouched down and asked, "I guess it is kinda late, huh?"

Josh nodded.

"Well, I have a little more work to do, then we can go home okay?"

He nodded again.

"Let's go set you up a place to take a nap," and with that, Mac picked him up and carried him off into her office. Harriet followed her with a pillow and blanket she kept under her desk. They pulled two chairs together, and set him up a little makeshift bed. Mac laid him down on the chairs, took off his shoes, and covered him with the blanket. The two women stood over and watched the little boy quickly drift off into a sweet, childlike sleep.

"Ma'am," said Harriet, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry if this is out of line, but, where has he been? I mean, he surely wasn't with you this whole time was he?"

"No, Harriet, he wasn't," answered Mac in a hushed voice, being careful not to wake the child. "It's kind of a long story, really."

"I've got time, ma'am."

Mac nodded. "Let's go talk in another room."

Harriet and Mac went into the large room normally used for staff meetings. "Where do I even begin?" Mac wondered once they were seated at the table.

"At the beginning, ma'am," Harriet said with a smile.

Mac laughed a little, "Well, about seven years ago, I met this man named Michael Lee Phillips. He was wonderful- smart, kind, responsible,… handsome," Mac smiled at the memory. "Well, I was positive that this man was the man I had been waiting for. I told him about my husband, and how we was not in my life. To my surprise, Michael was very understanding, bless him. I planned to divorce Chris as soon as possible. When I found out I was pregnant, both Michael and I were ecstatic. We were both quite young, but we had each other, and we figured it would work out. Well, it was really late one night, a few days before I had planned to contact a lawyer to get the divorce process with Chris started. And I got a call," Mac stopped here, choking on the last word.

Seeing the tears, Harriet rubbed Mac's shoulder, "It's okay ma'am."

"They said that Michael was in an accident. He was speeding down the interstate, trying to get home. He was passing through a construction zone. Being so late, it was dark, and by the time he saw the barricade, it was too late to stop, so he swerved and ended up ramming into the concrete median. He died instantly," Here, Mac paused. Harriet waited. "The funny thing is, if he wouldn't have swerved, and just hit the damn plastic barricade, he probably would have walked away."

"I'm so sorry ma'am," Harriet stammered, "I didn't have any idea."

Mac nodded an acknowledgement of her comment. "I got very depressed. And, of course, all those symptoms increased tenfold when Josh was born. Especially when I saw him. He looked like Michael, and I just couldn't take it. Even when he was a baby, whenever I looked at Josh, it felt like I was looking at Michael. At the time, I didn't feel like I would ever be able to do right by him, because I would always be haunted by the memory of Michael, but I didn't want to give him up to some strangers either. Luckily, Michael's parents are angels, and they were more than happy to take him until I could get my stuff together again. I would see him at least one weekend a month, and we would spend most major holidays together, and in the summer I'd go spend time at their farm. Just lately… it hasn't been enough. I've been missing him so much. I'm just afraid. God, look at me, I'm a horrible mother," cried a now tearful Mac.

"No, you're not, ma'am. From what I've seen, Josh adores you, and you have been so good with him. You are a different person now, Major. I think you are ready."

"Think so, Harriet?"

"I know so ma'am. Now come on, if I recall correctly, you said you had some work to finish up," Harriet said with a smile.

Mac gave Harriet a hug, "Thanks so much Harriet, what would I ever do without you?"

After a long couple of hours spent dodging Harm's questions and wrapping up some cases, Mac was finally able to go home. She looked at Josh, still sound asleep on the chairs. She went over and knelt by him.

"Josh, honey, you ready to go home?" She asked while running her fingers through his hair.

"Hmmm, yeah," the boy answered, still half asleep.

"Okay, come on," she said, while lifting him up to her chest and draping the blanket over his back. He wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder, and quickly fell asleep again. She supported him with one hand and pushed the chairs back towards the wall and gathered her personal belongings with the other. She was walking through the bullpen towards the door when she heard the admiral behind her.

"Major Mackenzie," the admiral bellowed.

Mac, caught off guard, turned around to face him, "Sir? I didn't know you were in the office tonight," Mac said trying to talk softly while also trying to show the admiral respect.

"Could I speak to you in my office for a moment please?" The admiral asked.

"Sir, with all due respect, I really need to get him home, I…"

"It will only take a moment, I promise," the admiral interrupted, with an understanding smile on his face.

"Yes sir."

They walked into his office. The admiral walked around his desk, and sat down in his chair. He motioned Mac to sit down as well. Mac sat down as smoothly as she could, being careful not to disturb the sleeping child still wrapped around her neck.

"Obviously, there is some explaining that needs to be done," the admiral started.

"Yes sir," replied Mac, unsure of what to say, but feeling the need to say something.

"Care to enlighten me Major?" Questioned the admiral.

"Sir, I would love to but, you promised this wouldn't take too long, and I assure you the story that follows is anything but short."

The admiral, accepting her statement, nodded his head, "I understand Major. As your CO, I want to make sure that your personal affairs won't affect your business here at JAG."

"They won't sir."

Seeming to ignore her comment, he said, "And as your friend, I want to make sure you are alright. So, you okay Mac?"

"Yes sir. There is a lot going on right now, sir, but its nothing I can't handle," answered Mac, trying to convince herself to believe her own words.

"It seems like I've heard that before," the admiral said with a half grin recalling the conversation they had when Mac's husband came back. He continued by saying , "Mac, if you need to talk, talk. It doesn't have to be to me, but just talk to someone okay? You've carried this on your own long enough, figuratively and…," gesturing towards the little boy practically glued to his mother, "…literally. Understand?"

"Yes sir, thank you."

"Good. Now go home. Put that boy to bed"

"Aye, aye sir," said Mac as she stood up as gracefully as she could. She went through the door, and successfully passed through the bullpen without being disturbed. Waiting for the elevator, she buried her face in her little boy's hair and closed her eyes.


	3. Memories

0730 Local Time

JAG Headquarters

One week later

"Hey Mac. How was your Christmas?" asked Harm upon entering her office for the first time that day.

"Best one in a while," replied Mac, realizing how long it had been since she spoke to her friend. "And yours?"

"Oh, you know, same old," Harm walked further into her office and made himself comfortable in one of her chairs. Trying to sound as casual as possible, Harm asked, "Where's Josh?"

"Back with his grandparents," Mac replied with only half of her concentration focused on the conversation at hand.

"Maaac, I thought you wanted him back, what happened marine?" questioned Harm, shocked by his friend's apparent lack of responsibility.

"Oh, he is coming back," Mac, just catching what she previously said, "I didn't mean it like that. He is just back at their house for a week more, wrapping up stuff over there. They are packing up his personal things, and I'm working on getting him transferred to the local elementary school."

"Oh," was all Harm said. After a few minutes of silence, Harm asked, "Well what about your apartment? Won't you need a bigger one?"

"Yep. Taken care of that. I was lucky, my landlord owns a two bedroom unit in the same building. He said I could just transfer me lease over."

"Well that worked out nicely. So… it sounds like you have everything under control then," said Harm, almost disappointed that, for once, Mac didn't seem to need his help.

"Yep."

"Well, if I can do anything, let me know."

"Will do," Mac said, focused more on the current case she was working on.

Needing to fax something, Mac walked into the bullpen where she knew all eyes would be on her. Not to her surprise, Harriet had explained Josh's history to everyone, and soon, there were very few people in the office who didn't know about Mac's secret son. In a way, Mac was thankful for Harriet. She wasn't sure how many times she would be able to repeat the story of Michael and his accident, and Harriet's loose lips saved her from repeatedly trying to justify her actions to her colleagues. Still though, the first day back at the office was proving to be tiring. People kept asking her about Josh, and asking when they would get to meet him. Mac couldn't wait until this was old news, and something more interesting came up for everyone to gossip about. After quickly answering a few questions about Josh and her Christmas, she entered Harm's office without knocking and closed the door behind her. She drew the blinds, collapsed into one of his chairs and put her head on his desk.

After staring at her in silence for a few moments, Harm said, "Mac? You okay?"

"Just ducky," was her muffled reply.

"Rough day?"

Mac lifted her head and looked up at him. "I can't go anywhere without somebody mentioning him, or asking about him, or looking at me funny."

"That'll all pass Mac," Harm tried to comfort her, "You'll see. Soon, there will be a whole new topic for everyone to talk about."

"Gah, I sure hope so," said Mac while leaning back in the chair. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

"Mac, you said Josh was coming in a week, right?" Harm asked after about ten minutes.

Mac sighed, really preferring to talk about something else beside her son. "Yeah, his grandparents are driving him down next Sunday with his things."

"Well, I'm sure you have a ton to do."

"That's the understatement of the century. I have to meet with his new school, find him a daycare for after school, take care of all the legal business, and a whole bunch of other stuff," Mac said before adding, "not to mention I have to pack up my apartment and move everything down the hall."

"Well, why don't you request some time off."

"I don't know. I'm a marine, Harm. I should be able to handle all of this."

"Mac, you have a lot on your plate right now. Even marines can get overloaded sometimes. Why don't you put work aside for a few days?" Harm suggested. Seeing that Mac was considering the suggestion, he added, "Hey, I'll even take your cases on."

Mac smiled, let out a sigh of defeat, and said, "Okay, I'll go talk to the admiral."

"There we go," Harm said with a little added chuckle. "Hey," Harm began as she was starting out the door, "If you need help moving-"

"I'll let you know," Mac finished his sentence.

Harm leaned back in his chair, smiled, and watched her walk towards the admiral's office.

1800 Local Time

Mac's Apartment

Having spent a long day rushing around town, Mac was tired. She walked through the door of her apartment, hung her purse and coat, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed on her couch. As exhausted as she was, she was happy with what she had accomplished that day. The admiral granted her leave through Wednesday of next week, allowing her a couple days to get Josh settled before having to return to work. She got all of his school papers transferred, and had chosen a daycare for him to go to after school until she could pick him up after work. The main task now was packing her apartment.

She glanced around her unpacked living room and groaned. "Gotta start somewhere," she muttered to herself. She began picking up the odds and ends she had on her shelves and tables and putting them in a box. She was in the middle of taking books off of one of her shelves when she heard a knock a her door. She took a quick glance through the peephole before opening the door to a smiling Harm.

"Hey Mac, thought you might be hungry," Harm said as he held up a Beltway Burger bag.

"Hey, thanks. I'm starving," said Mac, only a little surprised at his sudden appearance.

"So, you're packing things up, I see," Harm noted while glancing around the room.

"Yeah, slow going though."

"If you want, I can help after we eat," Harm offered.

"Sure," Mac said with a smile.

They sat down on Mac's couch to eat. In the middle of his salad, Harm noticed a photo album on Mac's coffee table.

"What's this?" Harm asked as he reached for it. Mac just watched him wide eyed. She hadn't intended for him to see that particular album. "Ah.." was all Harm said after he saw the pictures it contained.

"It's just some photos of Josh," Mac said, in a desperate attempt to lose his interest in the photos.

"You don't seem too happy here," Harm observed when he arrived upon a picture of a tired, depressed looking Mac holding a just born Joshua.

"Unfortunately, I can't say that was the best day of my life," Mac muttered.

Understanding, Harm just bobbed his head.

"Heheh, what's this?" Harm grinned at the picture of Mac and Josh laughing with cake all over their faces and clothes.

Mac smiled at the memory, "That was at his fifth birthday party," she laughed, "We had a little food fight."

Harm smiled, and then came to another photo, "This him?"

Mac glanced at the photo of Michael and herself. Her back was against his chest, and his arms were wrapped around her waist with his hands resting on her pregnant belly. His head was propped on her shoulder and they were both radiating with happiness. "Yeah, that's him. That was taken about a week before his accident," Mac said softly.

Harm kind of frowned, "I'm sorry Mac," trying to change the subject he said, "Joshua does look just like him."

"Yep," she said before taking a bite of her burger.

They sat in silence for a while. Harm was still flipping through photos when he found a picture of a younger looking Mac sitting on a picnic blanket in a park. He said, "Oh wow, look how young you look."

Mac flashed him a glance of mock horror and playfully slapped his leg before smiling.

"Well, you know, younger than you look now," Harm said as he laughed.

"Forget it mister, the damage is done, you said it," Mac playfully teased.

They both laughed for a little while. After they finished dinner they resumed the monstrous task of packing Mac's apartment.


	4. Reunions

See original chapter for disclaimers.

A/N: Well, this chapter may be a little shorter, but I decided to publish this until I got my muse back. Heheh, this chapter decided to fight me the whole way. ^.^

**1300 Local Time **

**Sunday**

**Outside Mac's apartment building**

Mac paced up and down the sidewalk in front of her apartment. Josh and his grandparents were due to arrive any time. Before this moment, she didn't know that one person could experience so many emotions at one time. She was excited, nervous, thrilled, and scared witless all at the same time. But, for once in her life, she felt that something was finally going right. Her baby was coming back home to her, just like she always dreamed.

"They are now officially 5 minutes and 31 seconds late," she muttered nervously to herself.

Just as she said that, she saw the silver SUV turn onto her street. In the back seat she saw Josh bouncing up and down waving. When she saw him, she waved back and felt tears come to her eyes. Before the vehicle was completely stopped, Josh hopped out and ran into her arms. Tears streamed down Mac's face as she lifted him into her arms and spun him in a circle.

"Hi baby," Mac told him after she had finally composed herself enough to talk.

"Hi mommy. I'm so glad to see you. I missed you so much," Josh said.

"Oh, me too baby, me too," Mac muttered into his hair. Even though she had seen him only last week, knowing that he was here to stay brought the meaning of their reunion to a new level. After a few moments of just holding him, she put him back on the ground. She looked at the patient faces of his grandparents.

"Thank you so much for driving him down here, and, just, for everything. You'll never know how appreciative I am for everything you've done," Mac told them, knowing she would never be able to express her gratitude enough.

"Oh, sweetheart," the older woman told her as she pulled Mac into a tight hug, "I know exactly how appreciative you are," With that, the woman leaned back to look Mac in the eyes, "I had a little boy once too, you know."

Mac felt the lump in her throat and tried to hold back her tears as she smiled and gave the woman another tight hug. Mac laughed as she turned to give Josh's grandfather a hug also. Each of the adults began to haul the boxes with Josh's things into the apartment building.

"Where do you want us to put the boxes Sarah?" asked Josh's grandfather.

"Ummm," Mac said as she thought, "Just put them in my current apartment right now, I still have to move my own stuff into the new apartment." She was hoping to get Harm's help to move her furniture during the week. Until then, she and Josh would be camping out in her mostly packed one-bedroom.

They finished unloading the vehicle and went upstairs to spend some time together before his grandparents had to leave.

"Josh, are you going to be good for you mom?" asked his grandmother.

"Yes gram," said the boy who was sitting on his grandfather's lap.

"You take care of her for us, okay?" his grandfather said. He looked up at Mac and smiled, Mac smiled back. Josh's grandfather always had a soft spot for "his Sarah."

The boy chuckled, "Okay gramps."

"And we promise to come see you soon," his grandmother said more to comfort herself than Josh. She leaned over and gave him a hug and kiss. The boy, now getting kind of sad, nodded and hugged her back.

After another round of heartfelt thanks from Mac, tearful hugs, and bittersweet goodbyes, Mac and Josh were left alone.

"Well, bud, what do you want to do first?" Mac asked him as she washed their coffee cups from earlier.

"I don't know mommy," Josh answered.

"Hm, well, we sure have lots to do," Mac said as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to him, "We need to go shopping for your new school things. You are going to start on Tuesday."

The boy, with a hint of a scowl on his face, asked, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do," Mac said with a smile as she tickled his belly. They both laughed for a while before they got up to go to the store.

1615 Local Time

**Office Supply Store**

"Which do you want Josh? The blue one or the red one?" Mac asked, holding up two different pencil pouches.

"Blue!" Josh answered, with much enthusiasm.

Mac smiled as she tossed the blue pouch into the shopping cart. She scanned the shopping list to see what they needed to look for next. It made her feel happy to be shopping with Josh. It was a special experience for her; she had not shopped with him very many times. While it made her sad to think about how much she had missed out on in his life, it also made her look forward to the future. They continued to advance through the aisles picking up the all of the items on the list, and a few things that weren't. Mac and Josh were in the process of putting a few boxes of pencils in the cart when she saw a familiar head one aisle over.

"Funny seeing you here," Mac said to the man after she and Josh had walked over to him.

"Mac! Hey! I didn't see you," said a surprised Harm after he looked up from the item he was contemplating. "Hey, Josh," he added when he saw the little boy next to her. "When'd you get here?"

"This afternoon," replied a shy Josh.

Harm smiled and glanced at their shopping cart. "School shopping, huh?"

"Yep," said Mac as she looked down at the boy and stroked his hair. "He's starting on Tuesday."

"Well, that calls for a celebration, I think," Harm said. "Have you two eaten anything today? Why don't I take you out to dinner?" Harm asked, looking at Mac hopefully.

"It's a little early yet," said Mac, not really hungry.

"That's fine. I could pick you two up at 1800."

Josh turned his head upwards to look at Mac. "Please mommy?"

"Alright, I suppose," said Mac while smiling at Harm.

"Thank you mommy," said Josh as he turned to hug her legs. She smiled down at him.

"I'm going to have to get used to that," Harm said to Mac.

"To what?" Mac questioned.

"Hearing someone call you mommy." Harm replied, seemingly half teasing, but actually meaning every word of it.

"Oh, heh," Mac said, feeling kind of awkward. "Well, Josh, I think we have everything that you need for school now," said Mac as she looked back down to Josh, eager to change the subject. "You about ready to head home?"

"Yeah," answered the little boy.

"Okay, then," said Mac before she looked up to Harm, "And we'll see you this evening then, I suppose?"

"You bet," said Harm grinning. Mac and Josh walked away to check out and Harm returned his attention to the item he was previously looking at.

**1758 Local Time**

**Mac's Apartment**

Mac had just finished changing her clothes and making sure Josh looked presentable when she heard a knock on her door. She walked over and glanced through the peephole, although she know who it was.

"Hey," she greeted Harm after she opened the door.

"Hey, you two almost ready?" Harm asked with a grin as he glanced around the apartment for Josh.

"Just about," Mac said as she walked to get her purse and coat. "Josh, honey, go get your jacket please."

Josh ran off to find his jacket, while Harm and Mac waited by the door. "So when are you moving all your stuff to the new apartment?" Harm asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about that. Do you think you could help me move the bigger stuff this week?" Mac asked.

"Of course, just tell me when."

"Tomorrow or Tuesday? Maybe? I'm off work until Wednesday," Mac said, hoping she wasn't sounding too pushy.

"Sure, I'll be here right after work," Harm answered with no hesitation. He was glad Mac was asking for help.

"Thanks a million Harm," Mac said. "There's no way I could move my big pieces of furniture by myself. As much as I would like to think these Marine arms could handle it, that damn dresser must weigh a ton."

Harm laughed a little at Mac's comment as Josh finally returned, jacket in hand.

"Where are we going to eat?" asked Josh, looking up at Harm.

"Well, I thought I'd let you two decide. What kind of food do you like Josh?" Harm asked.

"Burgers and pizza!" Josh exclaimed.

Harm laughed and shook his head. "He's your son, alright," he said to Mac. Mac smiled as she turned off the light in her apartment and followed Josh and Harm through the door.


	5. Sunflower Seeds and Sailor Suits

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers._

_A/N: I just want to thank all of those who have reviewed so far. Your kind comments and encouragement have really motivated me to continue writing. As this is my very first fanfic ever, I wasn't sure how it would be received, so thanks so much to all of you. _

0815 Local Time

**Jag Headquarters**

**Wednesday**

"Welcome back Major. Did you enjoy your time off?" Bud asked Mac as they passed each other in the bullpen.

"Well, I don't think I could call it time off; I was so busy, but, yeah, Bud, it was great," answered Mac with a smile.

"I'm glad ma'am," Bud said before walking away.

Mac walked into her office, put her briefcase and cover on her desk. She sat down and started to look through some of the files that were on her face. She must have been grinning because a few minutes later there was an amused Harm at her doorway.

"You look happy," Harm said.

"I am," Mac said simply, glad that the words she spoke felt true. For the first time in a long time, she felt content and whole.

"How's Josh liking school?" Harm asked her.

"Oh, you know, it's school and he's a little boy, but I think he already made a few friends."

"That's great," he said. They talked for a few minutes about their cases and other official business before Harm returned to his own office and Mac went to the kitchen to get some coffee.

Upon entering the kitchen she saw Harriet crouched down, digging around in the fridge, looking awfully pale. Harriet saw Mac and stood up.

"Morning Major," Harriet said, rather weakly.

"Good morning Harriet," Mac greeted. She noticed the sickly expression on Harriet's face, and became worried. "Are you okay Harriet?"

"Oh, yes ma'am, just morning sickness. I can't seem to eat anything that will calm my stomach," Harriet said as she touched her belly and staggered a little.

Mac nodded and proceeded to pour her coffee. Without looking up, she asked, "Have you tried sunflower seeds?"

"Ma'am?" Harriet asked, slightly confused.

"Always helped me," Mac said with a small smile.

"Thanks, major, I'll try that," Harriet said after a slight hesitation. It was still difficult for Harriet to wrap her mind around the idea that Mac was once in the same condition as her. She always knew Mac as a straight laced Marine lawyer, and would have never thought that Mac would have had such a secretive past. Still though, she admired this new, maternal side of Mac.

Mac had just walked out of the kitchen when she remembered something and walked back in. "Oh, Harriet, do you think you could help me with something?"

"Anything, ma'am," the ensign answered.

"I wanted to plan a little get together at my new apartment. You know, kind of like a housewarming and a way to officially introduce Josh to everyone," Mac explained. "You are better at this type of thing than I am. So, do you think you could help me?"

"Absolutely ma'am!" Harriet replied, obviously excited.

"Great, thanks Harriet," Mac said with a smile then turned to walk back to her office. Harriet chuckled a little before another wave of nausea hit her and she ran to the bathroom.

1225 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Cafeteria**

"Thanks for meeting with me for lunch Harriet," Mac said. She and Harriet were seated at one of the tables in the cafeteria to discuss plans for the party Mac wanted to throw at her apartment.

"Oh, it's my pleasure major. I just love planning things like this; it's so exciting," Harriet said with a chuckle.

Mac smiled, "Now, I don't want anything fancy. Just a little gathering of friends."

"Understood, ma'am. So, what did you need for me to help you with?" Harriet asked.

"Well, I need help to get my apartment ready. I'll probably need some help picking out the food and everything. I don't really know how to entertain," said Mac with an embarrassed grin.

"Don't worry about a thing ma'am. I'll take care of planning everything," Harriet assured her.

"Harriet, I'm not expecting you to do everything. I just need you to lend me some advice," Mac clarified.

"I know major, but I really don't mind. In fact, I already have a few ideas."

"Okay, but please don't stress over this. It's no big deal or anything," Mac pleaded.

Harriet pulled a notepad and pen out of her purse. "Now, when did you want this party to take place?" And with that, the two women were lost in the world of parties, appetizers, and friends.

About two and a half hours later Harm and Mac were working on a case in his office. Mac seemed distracted. Harm even thought he saw her sneak a look at the clock a couple of time. "Mac, are you okay?" he asked, a little concerned.

"Yeah, of course, why would you think otherwise?" Mac asked, a little flustered.

"You looked at a clock," Harm said and raised his eyebrows, then added, "Twice."

"I did? Well, I wanted to know the time," Mac lied.

Harm squinted, folded his arms, and leaned back in his chair. "And since when have you had to look at a clock to do that?" After receiving no answer after a few moments, he asked, "What's bothering you Mac?"

"Nothing, just Josh should be getting out of school now, and it's his first day going to the after school program at the daycare down the road. I just wish I knew he got there okay," after seeing Harm's small smile, Mac said, "It's silly, I know."

"Mac, it's not silly that you are worried about your kid," Harm said. Mac bobbed her head. "Hey, if you are that worried, why don't you just call the daycare and make sure he got there? Here, what's their number, I'll dial it for you," He said as he picked up his office phone and got ready to dial the number.

"No, that's okay. I have them on speed dial on my cell phone," Mac said. Harm chuckled as he watched her press the keypad on her phone. After a few minutes, Mac was able to confirm that Josh had gotten to the daycare center safe and sound. Her mind at ease, she was able to concentrate on their cases.

1339 Local Time

**Mac's Apartment**

**Saturday**

Mac and Harriet were just finishing up setting up the snack table for Mac's party when there was a knock on the door. Mac walked over to the door and opened it.

"Bud, you didn't have to knock, we knew you were coming," Mac said when she saw Bud on the other side of the door arms full of various groceries and party supplies. Harriet had sent him to the store to get some last minute items.

"I know Major, it's just odd to walk into someone else's apartment without knocking," Bud explained after he put the bags down.

"Also, Bud," Mac began to say, "In this apartment, you are to call me Mac, understand? That goes for both of you," she said wiggling her finger between Harriet and Bud's direction.

They both glanced at each other and Bud said, "Okay ma'am… Mac!" Bud quickly corrected himself.

Mac chuckled as she looked down to continue arranging plates of food on the table. The three adults worked in silence for a few minutes before Bud glanced around the apartment and asked, "So, where's Josh? I don't think I've seen him since I got here."

"Oh, he is taking a nap. The people next door were having a crazy party all night. I don't think he slept too well," Mac answered.

Just as she said that Josh walked out of his bedroom rubbing his eyes. He looked up at Harriet and Bud and blinked a few times.

"Hey baby, do you feel better?" asked Mac as she walked over to him and smoothed his hair down.

He nodded.

"You remember Harriet and Bud, don't you?" Mac asked, while gesturing towards her friends.

He nodded again. He was obviously still half asleep. Mac smiled. "Josh, all of our friends are going to be here soon, so why don't you go change your clothes and brush your hair."

He nodded again and walked back towards the bedroom.

"Mac, he's so adorable," Harriet cooed.

"Thanks. I don't know what I ever did to deserve a little boy like him," Mac said with a slight furrow in her brow.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Bud said.

Mac glanced at him with a half smile.

"I agree with Bud," Harriet said.

Mac was about to thank them when there was a knock at her door. "It appears that our guests are starting to arrive," she said as she walked towards the door.

She opened the door to Harm dressed in a very crisp looking shirt/slacks/jacket ensemble. She couldn't help herself from running her eyes up and down him, admiring how great he looked dressed up. "Hey, Harm, come on in," she said after her short hesitation.

He grinned and stepped through the door. "Hi, Bud, Harriet," he greeted.

"Hello commander," Bud returned his greeting.

"I'm not in uniform Bud, so please call me Harm," Harm requested

Bid sighed, the conversation beginning to feel familiar. "I really don't see why you two mind being called by your military ranks."

"Because Bud, when we are out of uniform, we are your friends, not your senior officers," Harm tried to explain.

Bud seemed to accept that explanation.

"Let me go get Josh," Mac said after a few moments of awkward silence.

A few minutes later she returned with Josh. He looked considerably more refreshed than he had earlier. His expression lit up a bit when he saw Harm.

"Hi Harm!" He said energetically and ran over.

"Well, hi Josh," Harm smiled and looked down at the little boy. "How have you been since I saw you last?"

"Great," Josh answered.

Josh continued to chat with Harm, Harriet, and Bud as Mac went over to the door to let another guest in.

"Hello admiral, thanks for coming," Mac said when she opened the door.

"It was my pleasure Mac," he answered. He looked around the apartment. "Nice place you have here Mac."

"Thank you sir, it is quite a bit larger than my last apartment," Mac agreed. They walked over to where Josh and the others were. "Josh, this is Admiral Chegwidden," Mac told Josh.

"Hi Admiral," Josh said and reached out to shake the admiral's hand.

The admiral smiled and took his hand, "Hello Josh. It's nice to finally meet you face to face. Last time I saw you, you were asleep."

The adults all grinned at the cute, embarrassed smile of Josh.

Soon after, all the other guests had arrived and were chatting amongst themselves. Mac managed to get everyone's attention and started to speak to the whole party. "Good afternoon everyone. I just wanted to thank you all for coming; it means a lot to me. I wanted to hold this little get-together so that everyone could be formally introduced to my son, Joshua," here she paused and put her hands on Josh's shoulders. "I know all of you know about him now, and some of you may have met him, but I wanted to make sure that he was properly inducted into our extended JAG family. I realize that his existence came as a surprise to all of you, and I apologize for that, but I also want to thank each one of you for accepting that he is a major part of my life now." She glanced over to Harm to make sure he knew she was speaking especially of him. He nodded, understanding what she meant. She smiled back before continuing, "So, please, everyone help yourself to any of the snacks and beverages, and please feel free to talk to Josh," she laughed and looked down at him. "He can be a little shy, but he opens up after a while," everyone in the room chuckled before they began to stir and mingle with each other.

Mac stood back and watched all of her friends enjoying themselves. While some were talking to each other, most others, especially the women, were huddled around Josh. They were all clearly enamored with Mac's beautiful little boy. Mac chuckled at Josh's patient reaction to their hugs and comments.

_God Bless Him_, Mac thought to herself, _I'll have to remember to make it up to him somehow._ Her thoughts were interrupted when Harm walked over.

"Your son seems to be a popular attraction right now," Harm joked.

Mac laughed, "That poor boy. In ten years, he'll look back at this day, and he'll just have another reason to hate me."

Harm grinned and took another sip from the water bottle he had in his hand.

"Harm?" Mac asked.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you for, you know, not pushing me away once you found out about Josh," Mac said.

"You just thanked me a few minutes ago," Harm replied.

"I know, but that was to everyone, and I just wanted to make sure you knew how happy I am that you aren't hating me for keeping all this from you," Mac explained.

"Well, Mac, I have to admit, in the beginning, I didn't really know what to think," Harm said. "He just kind of appeared out of nowhere. You didn't really give us much warning."

"I know. I'm sorry," Mac apologized and looked down into the cup of punch she was holding. Harm reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"You used to be quite a wild thing when you were younger," Harm joked.

Mac looked up at him and chuckled. They stood next to each other in silence for a while before Harm broke the silence.

"You better go save your son."

"From wha-," Mac stopped mid-word when she saw the women measuring Josh and heard one of them mention "sailor suit." "Aw, what are they doing to him now?" she wondered out loud before running off to rescue Josh. Harm remained where he was and laughed at the sight of Mac trying to talk the women out of whatever scheme they were planning.

To be Continued… 


	6. Upside Down

_Please see First Chapter for disclaimers._

_A/N: Little bit different. Hope you enjoy._

1130 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Thursday**

**Two Weeks Later**

"Hey Mac, wait up," Harm walked faster to try to catch up with Mac. They were on their way back to their offices after a staff meeting.

Mac stopped and turned around to wait for him. "Slow poke," Mac teased.

"It's not my fault someone put extra espresso in her coffee this morning," Harm commented.

"I will have you know I had no espresso. I am running on 100% marine energy," Mac countered.

Harm squinted his eyes and scanned her from head to toe. "Uh-huh, sure."

"What? You don't believe me?" Mac cocked her head to the side and looked at him with a teasing smile.

"I'm supposed to believe that the glow coming from your body is _natural_?" Harm teased.

"I'm glowing? Really?" Mac held her hand up in front of her and examined her skin under the light.

Harm shook his head, "Ha, funny Mac. Seriously, what's been making you so happy?"

Mac sighed and thought about his question. She hadn't really noticed how different she felt before Harm mentioned it. After all, the past two weeks had just been business as usual. Josh and Mac had finally settled into a nice routine. Mac was getting used to having Josh around the house, and Josh had made some friends at school. The more Mac thought about it the more she realized that everything was wonderful, and Mac, for the first time in a long time, was happy. "Well, having Josh home makes me happy. I didn't realize how much I missed him," Mac said, trying to keep the answer simple.

Harm smiled. "I'm glad you are happy Mac." Mac smiled a content smile, and they finished the walk to their offices.

Not thirty minutes later, Harm knocked on Mac's doorframe.

"Hey, do you have the files for the Gambinez case?" He asked.

Mac thought for a second and then shuffled through some papers on her desk. After glancing at the file, she said, "Yeah, it's right here."

Harm walked towards her desk to take the file from her. "Thanks," He said before turning around. He began walking back towards the door with his head down reading the files. Not looking where he was going, he walked right into Bud, who was standing in the doorway. "Whoa, Bud, where'd you come from?" He said looking up with surprise.

"Sorry, sir," Bud apologized before addressing both Harm and Mac, "Major, Commander, the admiral requested both of you in his office."

"Thank you lieutenant," Mac answered.

Bud nodded and left.

"Wonder what he wants," Harm thought out loud as he waited by the door for Mac to stand up and walk with him. They glanced at each other before continuing towards the admiral's office.

Tiner stood up at his desk. "Sir, Ma'am, the admiral said to go straight in."

"Thank you Tiner," Harm said before they proceeded into the office.

Harm and Mac walked into the office and stood at attention in front of his desk.

"Commander Rabb and Major Mackenzie reporting as ordered Sir!" Harm bellowed.

The admiral nodded and said, "At ease."

The two officers relaxed and looked at the admiral who motioned for them to sit down. They did as he asked and sat in the chairs in front of his desk.

"Do either of you have room for a new case?" the admiral asked, looking at each of them.

Harm and Mac glanced at each other.

"I believe we both do, sir." Mac answered.

"Good, then, I'll put you working together on this one," the admiral said.

Harm and Mac bobbed their heads and waited for the admiral to continue briefing them on the case.

"Okay, this case shouldn't be too difficult," the admiral began, "It involves a petty officer aboard the-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. The door opened and Tiner's head appeared through the crack.

"Tiner, can this wait?" the admiral asked, slightly annoyed.

"Sir, I just wanted to inform the Major that she had a call on line two," Tiner said.

Mac twisted in her chair to look at him. "Can they hold Tiner? I'm in the middle of a meeting."

Tiner looked worried. He hesitated, and then said, "I think you should take this ma'am."

Mac turned back around to face the admiral.

"Go ahead, Mac. I'll brief the commander, and he can catch you up later," the admiral said, a little concerned about the odd look on Tiner's face.

"Thank you sir," Mac said as she stood up and swiftly walked out of the office.

Harm looked at the admiral.

After clearing his throat, the admiral continued, "Now, where were we…"

Back in her office, Mac picked up the phone.

"Major Mackenzie," Mac said into the receiver.

"_Hello Ms. Mackenzie. I'm afraid there has been an incident with Josh,"_ the voice on the other side of the phone said.

Upon hearing this, Mac sank into her chair and continued to listen.

The admiral had just finished informing Harm about the new case when there was another knock on the door. Once again, Tiner's head peaked around the door.

"What is it this time Tiner?" the admiral asked.

"Um.. Sir, Major Mackenzie just fainted," Tiner said, stumbling over his words.

"What?!" The admiral asked, half yelling.

Harm leaped from his chair, and both men hastily left the office, knocking Tiner off balance in the process.

By the time they got to Mac's office, Bud, Harriet, and most of the other JAG staff were either in her office or next to the entrance.

"Back to work!" The admiral shouted, sending all the curious onlookers back to their appropriate places.

Mac was now sitting upright on the floor, supported by Bud. Tears were streaming down Mac's face, and Harriet was knelt next to her, trying to consoler her. She was fighting to stand up, although they weren't allowing her.

The admiral walked over and crouched down in front of her. Harm did the same.

"Mac, what's wrong? Are you okay?" the admiral questioned, clearly worried.

Mac sniffed, "I need to get to the hospital. I need to leave," she said in broken words. She attempted to stand before the admiral placed a hand on her shoulder and held her down.

"Whoa there, hang on a second, what's this about? Are you okay? Are you sick?" the admiral asked calmly.

Mac let out a sob, "Not me, Sir, Josh. His school called. Sir, I need to go," she struggled to get up again.

"Mac, talk to us. What happened?" Harm asked, his voice in between concerned and frustrated.

"He fell down three flights of steps," She quickly explained. She was getting frustrated with their calm questioning. She wanted to leave. "I need to go," she said, struggling to break free of Bud's restraint before successfully standing up.

"Well, did they say how bad he is?" Harm asked.

"No," Mac said bluntly. She frantically searched for her keys.

The four other people in the room looked at each other.

"Wait, Mac, calm down, it might not be as bad as you think," Harm offered.

Finding her keys, Mac now began the search for her cover and purse. "Sounds bad. Unconscious, broken ," she mumbled almost unintelligibly, still crying.

Harm put a hand on her shoulder. She shook it of and turned to look at him. There was fire in her eyes, and Harm was actually scared of her. "For Christ's sake, let me go! He's my son! I need to go!" she yelled, "I need to go, I need to go. Josh, I need to get Josh," she sobbed, distressed and disoriented. She started to walk towards the door to her office. The admiral ran after her.

He grabbed her shoulder, "Dammit Major, you are in no condition to drive," He yelled, grabbing her keys.

"I'll drive her sir," Harm offered.

The admiral nodded and tossed the keys to him. Harm caught them and wrapped an arm around Mac's shoulders and began to lead her towards the elevator. She tripped on her heels half way through the bullpen. Harm caught her and pulled her upright again. He wasn't sure he could get her out of the building by himself. He looked over his shoulder. The admiral was already walking towards them. Just as Mac stumbled again, the admiral got on the other side of her and wrapped his arm around her waist. As they waited for the elevator, the admiral turned to face Bud, who had followed behind them

"Bud, hold down the fort until we get back," the admiral asked having full faith in the lieutenant.

"Absolutely, sir. Can we do anything else?" Bud asked, concerned.

"Pray," the admiral said simply, just as the elevator doors closed.

To Be Continued… 


	7. Helpless

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers._

_A/N: Again, thanks for all the kind comments and reviews. Sorry to those that didn't like cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter, but I'm not making any promises about this one either ^.^ Enjoy!_

1245 Local Time

**Georgetown University Hospital**

Harm pulled Mac's Jeep into a parking spot and put it in park. The admiral helped Mac to get out of the vehicle and they all walked at a fast pace towards the hospital entrance. Mac had been able to gain control of her emotions on the way to the hospital, and was in a slightly more composed state. Upon entering the hospital, Mac struggled to get the attention of any of the hospital personnel. The admiral, getting frustrated, went to the front desk and stared down at the unconcerned young woman behind the counter. She was gossiping on the phone but looked at him when she noticed his glare.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

Mac walked up to the desk. "I need to find my son," she answered for the admiral. "He was taken here a little under and hour ago."

"What's his name, ma'am?" the girl asked.

"Joshua Mackenzie Philips," Mac answered quickly. The girl behind the desk typed his name into the computer and clicked the mouse a few times. Mac drummed her fingers on the counter, and Harm and the admiral stood behind her with concerned looks on their faces.

"It appears he is currently in surgery right now ma'am," the girl said.

"Surgery! For what?" Mac demanded. She felt the little bit of calmness in her body drain.

"I'm not sure, ma'am," the girl answered, "You need to go to Pediatric Surgery on the fourth floor. They should have more information for you."

Mac turned around and headed towards the elevator without saying anything. Harm glanced at the admiral.

"Thank you," Harm told the girl behind the counter before he and the admiral chased after Mac.

In the elevator, Mac tapped her foot impatiently. Harm and the admiral stood back, deciding that it was better not to interfere with a worried, upset mother. As soon as the elevator chimed and the doors opened, Mac rushed into hallway, glancing around anxiously and made her way towards the information desk.

"Ms. Mackenzie?" came a female voice from behind her.

She stopped and quickly turned around. She immediately recognized the woman as the teacher's aide for Joshua's class. Josh often talked of her, and seemed to be very fond of the woman.

"Ms. Aimes!" Mac seemed relieved to find someone who knew what was going on. "What's going on with Josh? The receptionist downstairs said he was in surgery. What's wrong with him?" Mac rushed her words, desperate for information.

The young woman nodded, as if she expected the questions and had already planned her response. "Well, ma'am, as you know, he was being rowdy with some of the other boys on the way to lunch, and he tripped going down the stairs. He fell down three flights of steps," the woman began to explain.

"Yeah, I know that," Mac interjected, "Why is he in surgery?"

"He broke his arm in a few places, and the doctors wanted to get it set and pinned as soon as possible," the woman answered her question.

Relief seemed to wash over Mac's face, but the teacher's aide did not seem to share the same feeling.

"But, ma'am, that's not currently what have the doctors concerned," the aide took a deep breath.

"What is it then? His neck? Spine?" Mac pleaded the young woman for information.

"No ma'am, the doctors did thorough tests for those areas when he came in. They said he was very, very fortunate that he didn't break any vertebras or any other major bones. But you see ma'am, when we got to him on the stairs, he was unconscious, and he hasn't regained consciousness as of yet."

Mac took a few steps back and collided with Harm who, along with the admiral, had been listening to the entire conversation. Harm put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, what does that mean?" the admiral asked after Mac still hadn't said anything after a few moments.

The young woman shifted her gaze from Mac to the intimidating admiral.

"We won't be sure until after he gets out of surgery and further tests are performed," the woman said, not seeing it necessary to elaborate on the worst-case scenarios. She could tell that the three officers already knew what those scenarios were. She glanced at her watch, "They may be in surgery for a while yet. The doctor said it may take a while to place all the pins in Josh's arm," all four adults stood there for a few minutes in silence. The woman spoke again, "There is a nice waiting room over there," she said, motioning towards an enclosed room with chairs, a television, vending machines, and toys.

The admiral nodded with a small smile. Harm wrapped an arm around Mac's shoulders and led her to the room. The others followed behind them. Harm sat next to Mac and held her hand tight. The admiral pushed some magazines around on a table until he found one that he thought might be slightly interesting. Ms. Aimes sat down in the middle of a row of chairs across from Harm and Mac. For about fifteen minutes, the only sound that could be heard was the admiral flipping through the pages of the magazine he was reading. Mac was staring at the floor with a frown. Her tears had dried but her eye makeup had run down her cheeks. Harm was looking down at his hand that was wrapped around Mac's. Mac looked up and broke the silence.

"Admiral," she said quietly with a cracked voice, "You don't need to stay. I'm sure JAG needs you more than this waiting room does."

He looked at her over the frames of his reading glasses. "Are you trying to get rid of me major?" he asked.

"No, sir, it's just I understand if-" Mac started

"I'm staying here Mac," the admiral said with a tone that couldn't be argued with.

"Yes sir," Mac said before looking at the woman across from her. "Ms. Aimes, you don't need to stay if don't want to either."

"Josh was one of my favorite students, ma'am, so if you don't mind, I'd really like to stay," the young woman answered.

Mac smiled. She was glad that someone else who knew Josh well was waiting with her. After a few minutes she seemed to remember something and looked up from the floor. "Ms. Aimes, I'm sorry. I didn't introduce you," Mac looked at the admiral and Harm and said, " Ms. Aimes is the teacher's aide for Josh's class," Mac explained. "This is Admiral Chegwidden, my CO," she said motioning towards the admiral. The woman smiled and nodded.

"Just call me AJ, please, ma'am," the admiral said with a smile.

"And this is my business partner and good friend, Lieutenant Commander Rabb," Mac continued, looking up at Harm.

"Call me Harm," said the commander as he let go of Mac's hand and reached to shake the woman's. After the woman smiled and shook his hand, Harm immediately grabbed Mac's hand again. He didn't see the curious expression and an ever so small smile that Mac shot him.

About three hours later, Mac opened her eyes and realized she had fallen asleep on Harm's shoulder. She sat up and tried to rub the crick out of her neck. She looked around the silent room, wondering if she missed anything. From the looks of it, she assumed nothing had happened. The admiral had leaned back in his chair and fell asleep with his glasses on and the magazine open in his lap. Ms. Aimes was outside of the room talking on her cell phone. Mac looked next to her, Harm must have been asleep, but woke when Mac sat up.

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," Mac apologized.

"I wasn't asleep," Harm said, smiling slightly. He repositioned himself in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. Mac stood up and walked around the room for a few minutes, looking at the drawings on the wall that she assumed some of the pediatric patients had made. She sat back down just as Ms. Aimes walked back into the room.

"Did anything happen while I was asleep?" Mac asked the woman.

"Not a thing ma'am," the woman answered flatly.

Mac estimated that it was 47 minutes and 14 seconds later when a doctor entered the waiting room. She sat straighter in her chair and looked up at him. The admiral heard him enter and woke up. He put the magazine on another chair and folded his glasses before he, too, looked up at the doctor. Within seconds, the doctor had the full attention of all four adults. The doctor smiled down at Mac.

"Are you Ms. Mackenzie?" he asked. He had a kind voice.

"Yes," Mac answered.

"I'm Dr. Riley," the doctor introduced himself.

"How is Josh? Is he going to be okay?" Mac rambled questions, her anxiousness returning now that the doctor was here.

The doctor smiled and understanding smile and said, "The surgery went fine. There were no problems, and I expect his arm to heal fully over the next couple of months."

Mac nodded, glad to hear that, but more concerned with the bigger problems. "But what about his head?" Mac said and motioned towards Ms. Aimes, "She said you were concerned that he hadn't regained consciousness."

"It's always worrisome when a patient remains unconscious for an extended period of time. But, as I'm sure you have been informed, we won't know anything further until I can get him in for some brain scans," the doctor explained.

"When will that be?" Mac asked

"As soon as he gets out of recovery and is well enough to be moved around," the doctor said.

"Can I see him?" Mac asked, hopeful.

"Yes, but only you for right now, and only for a few minutes," the doctor said, "You can take your friends in one at a time within visiting hours when we get him settled in the ICU."

Mac closed her eyes and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. The term "ICU" scared her. Harm rubbed her leg and looked at her.

"Go on marine," Harm said, trying to give her the strength to stand up and see her son.

Mac took a deep breath and followed the doctor out of the waiting room and through the halls toward the recovery room.

There were some other patients in the large room besides Josh. Mac looked at each of them while trailing behind the doctor to the back of the room. Mac felt the tears prick at her eyes. They were all so young and small. Some of them were visibly injured while others just appeared to be sleeping. There were some other parents in the room, either crying, looking at their children, or talking to them, if they were awake. They got to Josh's bed. It was the last bed on the right, nestled in the corner of the room.

"Here's your boy," the doctor spoke softly.

Mac went to the head of the bed and gently stroked Josh's hair. "Hi, baby," her voice cracked. She tried to comprehend the site in front of her. Josh had numerous tubes entering his body, either through his arm or through his nose and mouth. His left arm was thickly wrapped and there were large rods coming through the skin and bandages and attached to a metal brace. His face was swollen and bruised and he had various cuts and nicks on his skin. She started to cry. The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He looks so bad," she was able to mutter.

"When the swelling and bruising go away, he'll look a lot better," the doctor said, "I'm going to check on some other patients, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Mac nodded and the doctor left. She continued to stand over Josh's bed and smooth his hair. She sniffed before she quietly, slowly spoke to him, "Josh, honey, mommy is here, and you don't have to be scared. I'm so worried about you baby. You have to get through this Josh; I can't lose you. I just.. I just can't." Mac couldn't speak anymore, the silent sobs had taken over her body and all she could do was run her fingers through his hair and cry.

As promised, the doctor soon returned. He put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I'm afraid you have to go back to the waiting room now, Ms. Mackenzie. One of the nurses will let you know when we move him to the ICU."

Mac stopped crying long enough to ask, "What if he wakes up?"

"We'll let you know immediately if there are any changes in his status," the doctor said, leading her towards the door.

Mac didn't like how he worded it. He made it sound like there was little hope. She looked over her shoulder to get another teary glance at Josh.

A nurse walked her back to the waiting room. Mac was not being very successful in her attempts to stop crying. Harm and the admiral were waling around the room, stretching their legs. Ms. Aimes was still sitting in her chair and appeared to be doing some work. They all looked up when they saw the teary eyed Mac walk into the room. The admiral turned to look at her.

"How does he look Mac?" he asked softly.

"Horrible sir," Mac managed to squeak before her emotions once again got the best of her and she started to cry again. The admiral walked over and pulled her into a strong hug. In his arms, Mac began crying freely. This was not the place for her marine strength.

To be continued… 


	8. Hurry Up and Wait

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers._

A/N: Okay, I know this chapter is pretty short, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging like that, as I may not write the next chapter until the weekend is over. Things have been kind of busy. So, hope you enjoy.

2211 Local Time

**Georgetown University Hospital**

**Josh's Room**

Not long after Mac saw Josh after his surgery, he was moved from recovery to the ICU. Mac had brought both the admiral and Ms. Aimes in to see him, one at a time. After Mac promised to keep them updated on his status, they both went home, thoroughly exhausted. Harm, however, refused to leave. Even if he couldn't stay in Josh's room, he did not want to leave Mac alone. Because visiting hours were over, Harm sat in the hallway outside the room while Mac remained at Josh's bedside, holding his hand.

She was dozing off when a doctor entered the room. She looked up as he walked in.

"Hello Ms. Mackenzie, I am Dr. Weston," the doctor introduced himself, walking towards her to shake her hand, "We are going to go ahead and take Josh to get some brain scans done. That will help us to better understand his condition."

Mac only nodded. She was glad that progress was finally being made, but was also afraid of what they might find. "So this should tell us when he will wake up?" Mac asked.

"Yes and no," the doctor answered, "The human body is an unusual thing. Even if there appears to be minimal damage, it may take days, weeks, even, for the patient to wake up," seeing the worried look on Mac's face, he added, "and sometimes they wake up in a few hours. It is impossible to say for sure."

Mac saw no other option but to accept the information that the doctor gave her. A few nurses walked in, and they got Josh ready to be moved across the hospital. Soon, they had him prepped, and they wheeled his bed out of the room. Mac followed behind them. Harm was right outside the door, and he stood up when he saw the nurses bring Josh out.

"What's going on?" he asked Mac.

"They are taking him to get brain scans," Mac answered, still following behind the doctor, nurses, and Josh. Harm ran a few steps to catch up and began to follow them too. Harm and Mac followed for as long as possible before they were told that they would have to remain outside while the tests were being done. Mac sighed. It was a game of hurry up and wait.

Alone in the hallway, Harm and Mac leaned against the wall. Mac, having cried all she could, was in an odd state of calm. Harm moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to rest on his arm. Harm stared at the floor. Mac broke the silence.

"I feel responsible for this," she admitted.

"Mac. It isn't your fault. It was an accident. He tripped down the stairs. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it," Harm tried to comfort her.

"It seems like I could have done something," Mac said, " I could have told him not to rough play with his friends or to watch where he was going"

"He's a little boy Mac, that's what they do. Even if you would have been right there at the exact moment he fell, it would've happened anyway. Stop trying to blame yourself. Accidents happen," Harm said firmly.

Mac didn't seem convinced. "I am going to buy him the biggest damn bubble I can find."

Harm rolled his eyes at her but smiled a little bit, happy that her sense of humor was starting to return.  
After a few minutes of silence, Mac looked up at Harm. He looked down at her, trying to read what she was thinking.

"I can't lose him Harm," Mac said, with a great amount of sadness in her voice.

"You aren't going to lose him," Harm said, hoping what he said was true.

"I lost his dad. I can't lose him," Mac began to cry again.

"You aren't going to lose him Mac," Harm repeated.

"He's all I have," Mac said with a teary sigh.

Harm frowned and pulled her closer, squeezing her shoulder, "You have me Mac, you'll always have me."

Mac turned and buried her face at the base of his neck. "I'm so scared," she said, her words muffled by Harm's chest.

"It's okay, it's all going to be okay," He tried to comfort her as he hugged her even tighter and put his cheek on the top of her head.

About 45 minutes later Josh was wheeled back into the hallway. Upon seeing him, Mac left Harm's side and went to stroke Josh's hair. She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. The doctor soon came out of the testing room. Mac looked up.

"What did the tests show?" Mac asked.

The doctor motioned for Mac and Harm to follow him. They did as he asked; Mac threw a glance over her shoulder, and saw the nurses wheeling Josh back towards the ICU.

The doctor led them to a quiet viewing room with light boxes lining the walls. He popped the scans into one of the light boxes as he began to talk, "Well, his brain scans are promising. I really see nothing that would make me think he will have permanent damage."

Mac clasped her hands together and held them up to her mouth. She smiled a small, hopeful smile. Harm moved over to her and placed his hand in the small of her back.

"He does have a little bruising here," the doctor said, pointing to a spot on one of the images. Harm and Mac leaned in to get a closer look. Harm wasn't quite sure what he was pointing at, but Mac nodded a little and cocked her head slightly to one side. "Well, Ms. Mackenzie, granted that Joshua wakes up in a reasonable time, he should soon return to being a rambunctious little boy again," the doctor said with a small chuckle.

Mac smiled and Harm hugged her.

"That's great news Mac," Harm said into her hair.

The doctor smiled, "Although we aren't out of the woods yet, all in all, you have a very, very lucky little boy. Not many people can fall down three flights of steps and come out with as few injuries as Josh has," the doctor paused, "I am still amazed that he has no spinal injuries. That's a miracle."

"That's my Josh," Mac said, the relief obvious in her voice.

On the way back to the ICU, Mac asked the doctor, "When can he be transferred to a normal room?"

"I'd like for him to wake up first," the doctor answered, "If he remains stable after that, I see no reason to keep him in Intensive Care."

When they reached Josh's room, Harm stopped outside while Mac went inside. She paused in the doorway to look at Harm. She hated to leave him outside of the room.

The doctor smiled at Harm and said, "Oh, go on in. I can bend the rules a little for you." Harm grinned and replied, "Thanks Doc."

Mac and Harm entered the room. They stood over the head of the bed. Harm smiled sweetly down at him and touched his cheek.

"Hey buddy," he said, "The doctor had good news for you."

"Yeah, baby, now all you have to do is wake up," Mac said, and smoothed his hair back.

Like magic, Josh's eyes slowly opened and he looked up into Mac's face and smiled a small smile.

To be continued… 


	9. The Awakening

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers._

A/N: I know, another shorter chapter, but I figured you all wouldn't mind too much. ^.^ Thanks for all the comments guys, keep 'em coming!

2311 Local Time

**Georgetown University Hospital**

**Josh's Room**

"Josh? Can you hear me baby?" Mac asked, shocked at the sight before her.

Josh was still looking up at her, smiling. "Are you mad at me?" he asked in a low, hoarse voice.

Mac couldn't help but laugh once at the innocence of his question. She was worried sick about him all day, and here he was thinking she was mad at him. "Why on _Earth_ would I be mad at you sweetie?" she asked with a smile.

"Because I was rough playing when I fell," Josh answered, confused as to why she wasn't mad.

"Aw, honey," Mac said as she leaned down to gently hug his shoulders. "I was so worried about you." Harm watched them with a grin on his face.

"I'll go get a doctor, okay?" he asked while lightly touching Mac's shoulder.

Mac quickly looked up to smile and nod before turning her attention back to Josh.

Harm returned with three nurses a few minutes later.

"His doctor went home, but they called him, and he should be here soon," Harm explained to Mac.

"Until then, we'll make sure Josh is all taken care of," said one of the nurses sending a warm smile in Josh's direction. The nurses went about checking Josh's vital signs and making sure he was comfortable. Harm was standing off to the side in the corner with his arms folded across his chest. Soon after the nurses started working with Josh, Mac joined Harm in the corner, wanting to give the nurses plenty of room to work.

Harm put a hand on Mac's shoulder. "I told you he was going to be okay," Harm said, his gaze never leaving Josh.

Mac smiled, not really knowing how else to respond. "After the doctor comes and checks him out, we need to call the admiral and Ms. Aimes. They'll want to know he woke up," Mac said.

Harm glanced at his watch. "It's late. Should we wake them up?"

"Do you think they are sleeping anyway?" Mac asked.

Harm raised his eyebrows. She had a point.

Josh's main doctor arrived about 15 minutes later.

"So, Ms. Mackenzie, your boy woke up?" the doctor asked when he walked into the room. He was glancing over Josh's charts. He looked up and smiled at Mac.

"Yes, sir, he sure did," Mac said with a big grin, "Though, I'm sorry we had to drag you back out here at this time."

"Ah, that just comes with the job. I'm always more than happy to come back to the hospital if it means a patient has improved," the doctor said genuinely. "Now, let's get your boy checked out," he said as he made his way to the bed. By that time, all but one of the nurses had left the room. Harm and Mac followed behind the doctor so that they could better see what he was doing.

"Hi, Josh, I'm Dr. Weston. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked Josh.

"Okay," Josh answered rather shyly, as he had never met the man before.

The doctor smiled and then asked, "Anything hurt Josh?"

"My arm," Josh said as he wiggled his left arm ever so slightly.

Dr. Weston nodded and then said, "Yeah, buddy, I'm afraid that's going to hurt for a little while. We had to operate on it a bit."

"Why?" Josh asked, honestly curious.

"Well, you see, Josh, when you fell, you broke the bone in your arm. We had to make sure it healed properly," the doctor answered. He didn't want to scare the boy with all the details.

Josh nodded his head a little. "What did it look like?"

"What? Your arm?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, when you cut it open," Josh elaborated.

The doctor glanced up at Mac and then back down to Josh. "Well, it's kind of hard to describe. But, I'll tell you what. We recorded the entire surgery on a video camera. If you want, I can let you watch it." Mac looked down at the doctor, her eyes wide. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

To her surprise, however, Josh's whole face lit up and he said, "Really?! Will I get to see my blood and bones and everything?"

The doctor chuckled, "Only if you want to."

Josh nodded eagerly.

"Okay then, we'll talk about it again after you have had some rest and are feeling a little better," the doctor said with a smile.

Mac glanced up at Harm with a look of mild disgust. She couldn't believe anyone would _want _to see their own operation. Harm leaned over and teasingly whispered into her ear, "It's a little boy thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Apparently," Mac said softly, still disgusted. Harm and Mac continued to watch the doctor examine the little boy. Josh was talking freely with the doctor now that he knew the man a bit better. After a few minutes, the doctor had finished looking over Josh and pulled Harm and Mac outside the room to talk to them.

"Well, he certainly looks good for all that he has been through today," the doctor said, "Although he is a little sore right now, he appears to have a full range of motion everywhere except his left arm, of course. That will take some rehab sessions to get it back like it was before he fell, but it shouldn't be too difficult. He has young bones that heal quickly."

Mac was listening closely and then asked, "What about his head? He banged it pretty hard. I know he seems fine now, but-"

"His head no longer worries me as much as it had," the doctor cut off Mac's string of worried comments, "To be on the safe side, I want to keep him in Intensive Care for observation, but we should be able to move him to a normal room by tomorrow," the doctor paused and then looked at his watch, "Or rather, later today," he amended.

"How long do you think he'll be in the hospital?" Mac asked.

"If he keeps progressing like he is now, he should be out in no time. But, for now, let's just take things one day at a time."

Mac nodded.

"Well, folks, there isn't much more for me to do tonight, so I'm going to head on home. If his status changes at all, I'll be back ASAP," the doctor said, "Ms. Mackenzie, Mr. Rabb, I recommend you two go and get some rest," knowing well that they wouldn't listen, he said goodnight and left.

"The doctor is right, Harm, you should go home and get some sleep. There isn't anything you can do here," Mac said.

"I can't leave you here alone," Harm protested.

Mac crossed her arms and with a teasing tone said, "And what makes you think that? It's not like I'm a _sailor_," Mac took special care emphasizing the last word with mock disgust.

"Funny, Mac," Harm rolled his eyes and grinned. Then he looked at the ground. "I know, Mac, I just worry about you. I don't want you to deal with this alone."

"Aw, Harm, I'll be okay," she looked in his eyes, and she could tell he wasn't convinced. "I promise, Harm. Please, go home," Mac pleaded.

"I'd rather stay," Harm said, not surrendering that easily.

Mac rolled her eyes. "There's only one chair in the room, Harm. What are you going to do? Stand all night?"

Harm kept his eyes on the ground. He didn't have a solution to that. "Will you call me if anything changes?"

"Of, course," Mac assured him. Then her eyes shot open wide like she had suddenly remembered something important.

"Mac?" Harm said, worried by the look on his friend's face.

"We forgot to call the admiral and Ms. Aimes," Mac said, the thought just dawning on her seconds earlier.

Harm's eyebrows fell in relief, "Oh, I thought something was _actually _wrong."

Mac thought for a minute, ignoring his teasing comment. "I'll call them, and you go on home."

"You sure you'll be okay here alone?" Harm asked.

"Harm," Mac said flatly while giving him a youshouldknowbetter glare.

Harm sighed and then said, "Okay, but if you need _anything_, anything at all, even if its just I don't know, a coffee-"

"I won't hesitate to call you," Mac finished his sentence with a small smile.

Harm pulled her into a hug and said, "Take care marine." After a moment or two, he pulled back from her, grabbed his coat, and hesitated a second. Mac nodded her head telling him it was okay to leave, and he turned reluctantly to go home. She watched him with a smile until she was satisfied he wasn't coming back. She walked back into Josh's room to check on him quickly before phoning the admiral and Ms. Aimes. She smiled at Josh who was sleeping peacefully. She kissed him on the forehead and walked outside the room to make her calls.

To Be Continued… 


	10. Bacon, Nurses, Tigger, Oh My!

_Pleas see first chapter for disclaimers._0625 Local Time

**Georgetown University Hospital**

**Josh's Room**

Mac was woken up from a light sleep by the hospital intercom over Josh's bed. She squinted her eyes at the light in the room and sat up in her chair. She hadn't been able to sleep well during the night. Every couple of hours a nurse had come into the room to check on Josh. He had been able to fall back asleep quickly, unlike Mac, who was kept awake by random thoughts and various noises coming from outside the room. She glanced around the room while trying to rub the soreness out of her neck and back. Josh was sound asleep in his bed and all of the machines monitoring him were making the noises they were supposed to. She stood up and walked around the room to stretch her legs. Her stomach growled and she realized she hadn't eaten since before lunch yesterday. She was thinking about going get something from the cafeteria when her cell phone rang in her purse. She walked over to it quickly, not wanting it to wake Josh.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone.

"_Hey, Mac, how was your night?"_ the voice on the other end made Mac smile. It was Harm.

"Fine," she told him, knowing he'd get upset if he knew how long and sleepless the previous night had been.

"_You hungry?"_ Harm asked.

"I'm starving," Mac answered with a grin.

"_Good, because breakfast is on its way,"_ Harm said, _"I'll be there in a few minutes."_

"You're my savior Harm," Mac said, the thought of food thrilling her.

"_Oh, so she admits it?"_ Harm teased.

Mac rolled her eyes, knowing he couldn't see her, "Just hurry it up sailor," she said with a chuckle.

"_Yes ma'am," _Harm joked, and then got serious and said, _"I'll be there in a few, Mac."_

"Thanks Harm," Mac said with a grateful smile.

"_No problem Mac,"_ Harm said before hanging up. Mac flipped her phone closed and walked over to Josh's bed to check on him and wait for Harm.

Harm arrived about ten minutes later with a bag full of various breakfast foods and coffee. Mac helped him by grabbing the drinks and putting them on the table, and then unpacked the biscuits, pastries, and Styrofoam boxes containing the hot food.

"I don't think you got quite enough food Harm," Mac said sarcastically.

"Is that a complaint?" Harm looked at her with teasing eyes.

"Not at all," Mac said, eying the food, "Awww, Is that bacon? You actually got bacon?" Mac got excited when she found a container holding bacon.

Harm just rolled his eyes.

"Do I smell bacon?" came Josh's small voice from the other side of the room.

"Oh, not him too," Harm said with a groan.

"Mornin' baby. The doctor said you could eat real food. Are you hungry?" Mac asked Josh with a big smile.

"Yeah," Josh replied and tried to sit up in bed before the soreness stopped him, "Ow," he winced.

Mac frowned at his pain. "Where does it hurt hon?"

"Everywhere," Josh frowned a little.

"The doctor said you'll be sore for a few days, Josh," Mac told him with sympathetic eyes, "Why don't you eat some breakfast. It'll get your mind off the pain," she suggested as she walked over to help him sit up.

"What do you want to eat Josh?" Harm asked, standing over the food.

"What is there?" Josh asked, sitting straighter to try and see what Harm had brought.

"Well, lessee, there's some biscuits, croissants, eggs, bacon, sausages-" Harm started to name off what food they had.

"That," Josh said.

"What?" Harm asked, confused as to what, exactly, he wanted.

"All of it," Josh said, perfectly serious.

Mac laughed at Harm's shocked expression.

"Okay, Josh, I'll get you some of everything," he said with a chuckle and began to make Josh a plate of food. He finished putting together Josh's plate and brought it over to him. "What about you Mac? What do you want?"

Mac stared at Josh's plate, "His looks pretty good. I'll have what he's having."

Harm grinned and shook his head a little as he made Mac a plate identical to Josh's.

Soon, all three of them were happily eating breakfast and chatting. Harm was picking up their trash when Dr. Weston walked in.

"Good morning folks," he greeted energetically as he came through the door. He saw Josh sitting up. "You look good this morning Josh. How are you feeling?"

Josh shrugged, his shyness returned since last night.

"He's a little sore today," Mac said looking at Josh with a small sympathetic frown.

"Feeling those steps, huh, buddy?" the doctor asked mirroring Mac's expression.

Josh glanced down towards the floor. Mac could tell he wasn't feeling well by the way he was acting.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" Mac asked the doctor.

"I can put him on some stronger pain meds, but they can make you feel odd, and that feeling can scare some of the younger children. So we try to avoid that when possible," the doctor explained. The doctor picked up Josh's chart and glanced over it. "Tell you what, I can raise the dosage of his current pain meds a bit. That should help."

Mac nodded and ran her fingers through Josh's hair, wishing she could do more to ease his pain.

The doctor looked at Josh and asked, "You know what else helps Josh?" after Josh shook his head no the doctor continued, "Ice cream. You'd be amazed at the healing powers of ice cream," Dr. Weston grinned at Harm and Mac. Josh's eyes lit up and he smiled. The doctor saw Mac smiling and asked, "Do you think your mom will let me go and get you some?" Josh looked hopefully up at his mother. Mac gave the doctor a small nod. Dr. Weston smiled and said, "I'll run down to the cafeteria. I'll be right back." Before anyone could say anything, the doctor was out of the door and down the hall.

"I wish I had that man's energy," Harm said with a blank expression.

Mac chuckled and sat on the edge of Josh's bed, stroking his hair, wishing that God would redirect his pain onto her. It hurt to see her baby hurt.

Harm sat down in the chair and watched her. There was something special about Mac's bond with Josh. He liked to watch them interact; it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

His thoughts were interrupted when Dr. Weston came back with a bowl of ice cream for Josh. He handed it to Josh with a quick smile before he was gone again to look after some of his other patients.

"Seriously, that dude is like Tigger," Harm said with amazement as he watched the doctor bound out of the room.

Mac laughed and stood up to walk around the room. She stretched and yawned.

"Tired?" Harm asked.

"Long night," Mac answered.

"I told you I should have stayed," Harm said flashing her a knowing look.

Mac rolled her eyes at him, "Then we would both be exhausted," she said before yawning again.

Harm stood up and said, "I'm going to go find another chair, take mine, I'll be back in a bit."

Mac watched him stand up and leave before she collapsed in the blue vinyl chair. Harm came back a few minutes later with a very nice looking desk chair.

"Where'd you find that?" Mac asked with a curious expression.

"The nurse's station," Harm said with a big grin.

"You stole it?" Mac asked, humorously surprised.

"Of course not," Harm said furrowing his brow but keeping his big grin.

"Then how'd you get it?"

"It wasn't hard," Harm said, "All I had to do was smile at one of them, and then I took it when she fainted," he smiled smugly and sank into the chair.

"My, my, someone is feeling cocky today," Mac teased. They laughed and chatted for a while before Mac fell asleep in her chair.

A couple of hours later, she woke up when Dr. Weston came back into the room. She sat up to listen to him.

"Good news. I am going to move Josh to a regular room now," he said moving over to check out Josh.

"Oh, that's great," Mac said, her face lighting up.

"Yeah, especially for that poor nurse without a chair," the doctor said giving Harm a serious glance.

Harm grinned. Mac smiled and shook her head. After some preparations, Josh's bed was being wheeled through the hallways with Harm and Mac following behind.

"So I'm guessing you took today off?" Mac asked Harm as they walked.

"Yeah, I'm on leave until Monday," Harm answered.

"You didn't have to do that," Mac said. Harm shrugged. "But I appreciate it," she continued.

"It's not a problem Mac," Harm told her, "You would have done the same for me." Harm put his arm over her shoulders and they continued to walk down the hall.

By lunch time, Josh was settled into his new room. Mac was standing in front of the window, enjoying the sunshine.

"I'm hungry," Josh said from his bed.

"Again?" Harm asked, surprised.

"Well, really Harm, we had breakfast 5 hours and 36 minutes ago," Mac said, then she put a hand on her stomach, "I'm kind of hungry myself."

"I can go pick something up," Harm suggested.

"Actually, I'd really like to run home and take a shower. I can pick some food up on the way back," Mac said, "Do you think you could stay with him until I get back?"

"Absolutely Mac," Harm assured her, "Take your time, I can go and get him some fruit from the cafeteria to hold him over until you bring back lunch."

"Okay, will you call me if anything changes?" Mac asked, now worried about leaving Josh.

"Of course Mac, I'll take good care of him, I promise," Harm said, lifting his chin up to smile.

Mac sighed and walked over to Josh, "Will you be okay while I'm gone baby?"

"I'll be fine," Josh looked up at her.

"That's my brave boy," Mac said as she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead, "I'll be back before you know it."

Harm grinned and watched her stand up and walk towards the door.

"And, I better not come back and find him converted to a Navy boy," Mac squinted her eyes and shot Harm a grin.

"Wouldn't think of it," Harm said, returning her grin. He walked over to Josh's bed as Mac started to walk out the door and said just loud enough for Mac to hear, "Now, Josh, did anyone ever tell you how amazing aircraft carriers are?"

Mac chuckled when she heard him and walked down the hall, knowing she had left her son in good hands.

To be Continued… 


	11. A Bad Day for Ferrets

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers,_

_A/n: Sorry this chapter took a little longer. It was a lot of fun to write though!_

_Update: Just reread this chapter and noticed some typos. Most of them should be fixed now. Sorry bout that!_

1124 Local Time

**Georgetown University Hospital**

**Josh's Room**

**Monday**

Mac sat next to Josh's bed twiddling her fingers. She and Josh both were getting restless in the hospital. Except for his broken arm, cuts, and bruises, Josh was feeling great, and he was ready to go home. Mac was anxious to have him home. She was anxious to go back to work. She was anxious to get back into their old routine. For the few weeks when things had gone smoothly with Josh home, she was happy and content, and things felt right.

Mac examined her fingernails before changing positions in her chair. She sighed and looked at Josh and saw that he was feeling the same restlessness.

"I'm bored," Josh said when he saw her looking at him.

Mac looked at him with the same bored expression he was giving her.

"When can I go home?" he asked.

"I dunno baby. The doctor promised that he would talk to us about it today," Mac knew there was a possibility that Josh might be discharged that day, but she didn't want to get Josh's hopes up if something were to come up. There was a quiet knock on the door before it was pushed open and Harriet peered through the crack.

"Good morning ma'am, can we come in?" Harriet asked with a warm smile.

"Of course Harriet, come on in," Mac said as she stood up to go to the door.

Harriet's smile widened as she pushed the door open and walked into the room. Bud followed behind her with a wrapped package and a bag of food.

"We brought some lunch ma'am," Bud said while looking for a place to put his armful of stuff. Mac went to his side and grabbed the bag of food to lessen his load. She cleared a spot on the table and put the bag down.

"Well thank you guys, but you didn't have to," Mac said, peering into the bag.

"I know ma'am, but I wanted to see Josh," Harriet said as she walked over to Josh's bed. She hadn't seen him since his accident. "Oh, you poor angel," Harriet said with a small frown. She gently hugged Josh and kissed his cheek. "How are you feeling? I heard you had quite the tumble."

Josh smiled a bit and then said, "I am feeling better. My arm hurts though." He wiggled his left arm a little.

Harriet frowned and looked at the scrapes and bruises on his face.

Josh noticed her sympathetic expression and said, "You should have seen me a few days ago. My face was all swollen, and I looked like an alien. I tried to get momma to take a picture, but she didn't want to. Commander Rabb would have, but he said he was scared of what momma might do to him if she ever found out." Josh smiled.

Bud stifled a laugh at Mac's surprised expression. Mac turned to give Bud a quick glare. Harriet, trying not to laugh herself, said, "Well, that was probably wise of the Commander, Josh."

The conversation lagged, so Bud thought it was a good time to give the present they brought him. He picked the package up from the table and handed it to Josh. "This is for you Josh. We thought you might need a pick-me-up," Bud explained with a smile.

Josh smiled and ripped the paper apart. Inside was a very nice looking remote controlled car. Josh's smile got bigger, and he looked up at Bud. "Thank you, it's so cool."

"It has three speeds and working lights. It even has turn signals," Bud said with a proud grin.

"That's awesome," the little boy said as he stared down at the car. Bud seemed pretty excited about it too.

"Aw, you two didn't have to get him anything," Mac said looking between Bud and Harriet.

"Of course we did ma'am," Harriet said, looking up at her.

"Well, we sure appreciate it. Don't we Josh?" Mac looked at Josh.

"Yes, thank you so much. Can I take it out?" Josh asked Mac hopefully.

Mac laughed, looking unsure. "Why don't we eat first, and then hear what the doctor has to say this afternoon."

Josh looked down at the car, slightly disappointed. "Okay," he said.

Harriet stood up and went to the table to take the food out of the bag. She arranged the food on the table for herself, Mac, and Bud, and then took a plate over to Josh. He began eating while watching cartoons on the television.

The three adults sat around the table.

"So how is JAG without me?" Mac asked.

"Fine ma'am. Of course, it feels weird without you there," Bud said.

"Well, I've been gone before Bud," Mac said with a small laugh.

"I know ma'am, but for different reasons. We all know why you aren't at work, and it's all just a little sad. Everyone at the office has been pretty worried about Josh," Bud explained. Mac was surprised at the amount of concern her coworkers seemed to have.

"Especially Commander Rabb. He's been going nuts this morning," Bud started to laugh, and Harriet's attempts to refrain from laughing failed also.

Mac shot them an amused, curious look.

"I'm sorry ma'am," Harriet said while attempting to control her laughter, "The Commander has just been so fidgety. He started yelling at Tiner this morning because he tripped on the trashcan next to his desk."

"Did Tiner move it or something?" Mac seemed confused.

"No, ma'am, it's still in the same place it's always been," Bud said, still grinning. He started laughing again, "And.. the doorframe…"

Harriet's laughter started to pick up again too. "And he ran right into the doorframe of his office," she said.

Mac began to laugh a little too.

"Oh, and he missed the elevator," Bud said

"And he locked his keys in his car," Harriet continued.

"Dropped some files."

"Jammed the copier."

"And then the admiral," Bud started to laugh again, "said 'dammit, son, you're fidgeting like a ferret,' " Bud did his best to impersonate the admiral's booming voice.

Mac chuckled, "Poor Harm," Mac said with a sympathetic smile.

"We shouldn't be laughing ma'am," Harriet said, sobering slightly, "But he is just _so _out of it today. It's kind of cute, really."

"You should see him ma'am," Bud said, still laughing a bit, "It's something you'd have to see to fully appreciate."

Mac chuckled, "I'll take your word on that Bud."

"He really wanted to come with us, ma'am, but the admiral assigned him a new case in an attempt to distract him," Bud said.

"Well, tell him to take it easy, will you?" Mac told them, "Tell him Josh is doing just fine, and we should be out of here at any time."

"When is he supposed to be released, ma'am?" Harriet asked.

"Well, if all goes well, the doctor is talking about maybe letting him out today," Mac said in a hushed voice, "Josh doesn't know, I don't want to get his hopes up. He is getting very bored here."

"Well that's great ma'am!" Bud exclaimed, "When should we expect you back at work?"

"As soon as I get him back to school," Mac said, indicating Josh, "I don't want to rush things though. He's been so strong and brave. I'm just hoping it isn't a front he's putting up."

Harriet smiled, "He's a strong little boy ma'am. He reminds me a lot of his mom."

Mac blushed, "Aw, Harriet. You guys give me too much credit."

"Maybe you just don't give yourself enough," Bud said. Harriet nodded in agreement.

Mac looked down at her now empty plate. "You know, I'd be lost without you two. And Harm. And the admiral. I'm not sure I could have done this without you guys. You all mean the world to me."

Harriet pulled Mac into a tight hug, "Aw, ma'am, that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me."

Mac doubted what Harriet said was true, but she smiled a teary smile and hugged Harriet tighter anyway. She knew she might start to cry if the subject didn't change soon, so she pulled back, smiled at Harriet, and faced Josh, "Are you done eating yet hon?"

"Yeah," Josh said, his attention more focused on the television. After a short moment, he turned his head and smiled at Harriet and Bud, "Thanks for the food."

"It was our pleasure sweetie," Harriet said with an adoring smile.

Mac stood up and walked over to Josh's bed to collect his empty plate. Harriet and Bud began to clean the table up. After all the trash from lunch was picked up, Bud glanced at his watch. "We should be getting back to work, ma'am. Commander Rabb was planning on bringing you dinner tonight, so if you two are still here, he said not to go and get anything."

"Okay, Bud. Tell him thanks, and that I'll call him if we end up going home today," Mac said following them to the door, "And thanks so much for bringing food and Josh's present. I appreciate it more than you could know."

"It was no problem, ma'am," Harriet assured her.

Mac gave Harriet and Bud each a quick hug, they said their goodbyes, and Mac and Josh were alone once more.

Mac had just sat down in her chair when there was another knock on the door. Dr. Weston opened the door and entered the room. "Good morning folks. How are we today?" the doctor said brightly upon entering.

"We're doing just fine, sir," Mac said as she watched the doctor walk to Josh's bed. "I think Josh is feeling significantly better today than he has," Mac added.

"Well that's good," the doctor said as he flashed a small pen light in Josh's eyes. He continued to examine Josh for a few moments before picking up his chart and flipping through the pages. "Josh, how would you like to go home today?"

Josh's face lit up, "Can I?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, you've been stable and improving for the past three days, so I see no reason to keep you hanging around this place," the doctor said.

Both Josh and Mac smiled widely. "Oh, that's great!" Mac said, the relief apparent in her voice. She was very eager to get Josh home and out of the hospital. She walked over to Josh and hugged his shoulders.

"So, we'll just do some final things with Josh, and I'll get all the paperwork ready," the doctor said. He started to flip through Josh's charts again. "Now, I'll want to see him in a week to check up on him. The nurses at the desk can help you schedule that appointment," the doctor continued, "Depending on how that appointment goes, I'll let you know when I want him to start going to physical therapy to get that arm back to 100%."

Mac nodded and asked, "Can I bring him to Bethesda for that?"

"Absolutely," the doctor replied, "I know a great therapist there that I think Josh would do well with. I'll make sure to let her know to be expecting your call when Josh is ready."

"That would be great, sir," Mac said appreciatively, "When can he go back to school?"

"Let's see…," the doctor thought about it for a minute, "Today's Monday. Give him a couple days to recuperate. If he is feeling well enough to return to class Thursday, he may, but I would prefer if he didn't go back any sooner than that."

Mac nodded in acknowledgement. She and the doctor went over the things Josh could and could not do at home, and they talked about how to care for his arm. The doctor wished them well and then was off to meet with his other patients.

As soon as he was gone, Mac whipped out her cell phone to call Harm and let him know not to bring dinner. She dialed the number and waited for him to pick up.

"_Commander Rabb,"_ he answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Harm," Mac said.

"_Mac!"_ Harm seemed excited to hear her voice, _"What's going on? Is everything okay?"_

Mac chuckled at his anxious response, "Relax, Harm, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know not to bring dinner tonight."

"_What? Why not?"_ Harm seemed confused.

"Because we won't be here. The doctor is discharging Josh today. We get to go home, finally," Mac explained.

"_That's great! Well, you'll still need to eat at home. I can bring dinner there instead,"_ Harm offered.

"That'd be good," Mac agreed, "But I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"_It's no trouble at all Mac. I'll be there at.. well, what time are you going to get back?"_

"We'll be home in a few hours," Mac replied.

"_Great! How does 1800 sound?"_

"Sounds fine to me," Mac answered with a smile.

"_Good, then, I'll be there,"_ Harm said.

"Oh, and Harm?," Mac said before they hung up.

"_Yeah?"_

"Relax a little around the office, okay ferret?" Mac said with a chuckle.

"_Ferret? Oh no, Bud told you, didn't he?"_

Mac laughed before answering, "It sounds like you have had an interesting morning." She heard Harm groan on the other end of the phone. "Hey, just stop worrying so much, okay?" She told him, "Things are going okay."

"_I'm just concerned about you Mac," _Harm admitted.

"I'm okay Harm. I promise," Mac tried to convince him.

Harm sighed, _"Okay… I'll see you tonight."_

"Yep, and you better not be late with my supper," Mac teased.

"_I won't be_," Harm said. Mac could tell by his voice that he was smiling. She hung up the phone and went to the nurse's station to make sure she did everything needed to take Josh home.

1505 Local Time

**Mac's Apartment**

**Georgetown**

Mac juggled the bags she was carrying to get to her keys. Once she found them, she unlocked the door to her apartment and held the door open for Josh. She put the bags on the floor in the living room.

"Welcome home baby," Mac said before kissing the top of Josh's head. Josh wandered around the apartment to make sure nothing had changed before kicking off his shoes and collapsing on the couch. Mac went over and sat next to him. "You tired?" she asked. He nodded. "Well you just stay here while I go get the rest of the stuff up from the car, okay?" He nodded again. She kissed his forehead before getting off the couch and heading back down to the car. When she got back, Josh was sound asleep on the couch. She moved his legs so that he was lying fully on the couch, and she unfolded a blanket and laid it on top of him. She smiled down at him and decided that it looked like he would be sleeping for a while, so she went to her bathroom to take a shower.

At exactly 1800 she heard a knock at the door. She looked through the peephole and saw Harm smiling at her, leaning against the doorframe holding a bag of food. She opened the door and said, "Right on time."

"Told you I would be," Harm grinned and walked into the apartment. "Someone must be tired," he said motioning to Josh who was still asleep on the couch.

"Yeah, poor angel, he's been sleeping since we got home three hours ago," Mac said with a sympathetic smile.

"Are you going to wake him up to eat?" Harm asked while he put the food on the table.

"Probably. He'd be upset if he knew he missed your visit," Mac answered. She walked to the couch and crouched down. "Josh, honey, Harm's here. He brought dinner," she said softly while gently shaking Josh's shoulder.

Josh slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around. His hair was messy and his eyes were droopy.

"You hungry, hon?" Mac asked. Josh nodded and hopped off the couch.

"I have to use the bathroom first," Josh said as he started to make his way to the bathroom. He saw Harm. "Oh, hi Commander Rabb," he said quickly glancing up.

"Hello Josh," Harm answered with a smile. He watched as Josh walked into the other room. Harm turned to Mac, "Well, he seems to be feeling okay. He isn't limping as much."

"Yeah, I think he is feeling better," Mac said while getting dishes out of the kitchen cabinets.

"What about you?" Harm said. He made his way over to Mac and put a hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"I told you; I'm fine," Mac said. Harm didn't look convinced. "Honest, Harm, I'm just tired."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Harm asked.

"Harm, you've been a huge help already," Mac said looking up at him. "Things should start to go back to normal soon. The doctor told Josh he could go back to school on Thursday. If he is feeling well enough to go, I'll go back to work too."

A worried look appeared on Harm's face. "Oh yeah, the admiral wanted me to talk to you about possibly going in for a few hours on Wednesday."

"I'd like to, but I can't leave Josh alone," Mac said.

"Oh, he knows. He said you could bring Josh to the office if you need to, but he wanted me to stress the fact that you don't have to if Josh isn't feeling well enough. He said he can figure something else out if you can't make it," Harm told her.

"I can certainly try, but it depends if Josh is feeling up to it. Did he say why he needed me?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, something about a meeting with-" Harm started to say.

"Oh yeah!" Mac interrupted, realizing what the admiral needed, "I had a meeting with some hot shot businessman associated with the Hurlington case," Mac thought for a moment, "I totally forgot about that. The man was flying across the country just to meet with me. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, and it's doubtful he'd reschedule. I need to be there."

"Well, the admiral wanted me to make sure you knew that Josh came first," Harm said.

"I know. We'll see. If he isn't feeling well, then I won't go, but I should really try to be there," Mac said as Josh came back from the bathroom.

Harm watched the boy walk in and sit down at the table. "Well, just do what you need to do Mac," he said as he sat down at the table across from Josh.

Mac nodded in agreement before she, too, sat down. Harm had brought Mexican food. She and Josh had tacos, burritos, and a variety of other different meaty dishes. She glanced across the table at Harm's salad.

"Ferret food," she said, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Hey, now, don't be messin' with the ferret," Harm playfully warned her.

Mac tried very hard not to laugh, but soon she couldn't help it anymore and was overcome with laughter, as was Josh and Harm.

To be continued… 


	12. Adventures in the Office

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers._

_A/N: Oh my, so sorry, this chapter has taken so long. I was on vacation, and didn't get a chance to write. But I'm back now, and have a bit more free time. I haven't forgotten about the story! Anyway, enjoy…_

_-_

**0733 Local Time**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Wednesday**

Mac and Josh were in riding the elevator up to her office. Josh yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up so early hon," Mac said while ruffling Josh's hair.

Josh just shrugged.

"But thanks for coming with me. Are sure you feel up to it?" Mac asked, wanting to make sure that Josh was feeling well enough to hang around the office for a few hours.

Josh nodded, still half asleep. Mac smiled and squeezed his shoulder as the elevator door opened. With her hand still on his shoulder she guided him towards her office. Crossing through the bullpen they got a lot of smiles and muttered greetings. In Mac's office, Josh sat down in one of the chairs by her desk while Mac flipped through some of the files on her desk. She looked up when she heard a knock on her door. She smiled at Harm and motioned him in. Josh turned in his chair to look at who was entering.

"Well, good morning Josh. How are you feeling today?" Harm smiled down at the little boy.

"Okay," the boy answered simply with a small shrug.

"He's still a little sleepy," Mac explained the boy's unenthusiastic answer with a sympathetic smile.

Harm smiled and nodded understandingly. "So you decided to come in today?" He asked Mac.

"Just for a few hours," Mac answered, "I have that meeting with Arthur Roland at 0900."

"Arthur Roland?" Harm asked, not quite sure whom she was talking about.

"Mr. Big Shot," Mac said with slight disgust.

"Oh, him," Harm chuckled, "Good luck with that."

Mac rolled her eyes, "Thanks," she squinted her eyes up at him.

He grinned, "I'll be in my office if you need anything," he looked down at Josh and tapped his shoulder, "Hey, Josh, if you get bored with her, you can come keep me company."

Mac's jaw dropped slightly and she glared at Harm as he walked out, proud of himself.

Josh watched Harm leave and turned back around in his chair and smiled hopefully at Mac.

Mac sighed and shook her head a little. "Go," she said with a slight chuckle.

Josh jumped out of his chair and followed Harm to his office.

-

An hour and 17 minutes later Mac stopped working at her desk so she could get ready for her meeting with Arthur Roland. She grabbed her briefcase and cover and left her office. On her way to the conference room she stopped by Harm's office. She looked through the window before knocking. Josh and Harm were laughing at something; both of their faces were bright red as if they had been laughing hard for quite some time. She grinned and knocked lightly on his door. Josh turned around in his chair and Harm looked up at her. They both had guilty expressions.

Mac raised her eyebrows, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Commander Rabb was just telling me stories about when he was on aircraft carriers," Josh grinned.

Mac raised her chin, "Was he?" she eyed Harm with a small smile. He cocked his head to the side and grinned proudly.

Mac tapped her watch and said, "I have to go to my meeting. Do you think you could watch Josh for me?" She smiled pleadingly.

"Of course. He can stay as long as he wants," Harm answered.

Mac smiled, "Thanks so much." She walked to Josh and kissed him on the head, "I'll be back soon sweetie. Be good for Commander Rabb, okay?"

Josh nodded.

Mac flashed a smile at Harm, "Thanks," she said again quickly before leaving.

Harm watched her walk away and then looked at Josh. "Now, where was I Josh?"

"You were just telling me about when you and your friends played a prank on Lieutenant Berkley," Josh replied.

"Ah, yes," Harm smiled before continuing with the story.

-

An hour and a half later Mac walked swiftly out of the conference room. She got to the elevator and banged the button with more force than was needed. Her meeting with Arthur Roland was not fun. After hearing him complain for 15 minutes about having to take time out of his important life to travel across the country to meet with her, Mac then had to listen to him rant about the military and government conspiracies. Somehow, through the constant interruptions of his cell phone, Mac managed to talk to him about what she wanted.

She walked through the bullpen to Harm's office to retrieve her son. She looked through the windows. Neither Harm nor Josh was inside. She swiveled around and glanced around. She didn't see them anywhere. "Lieutenant," she called to Bud. He looked up. "Have you seen Harm or my son?"

Bud crinkled his eyebrows, "Commander Rabb left about thirty minutes ago, ma'am. The admiral sent him to meet with someone at the Norfolk Naval Base."

"He what?" Mac didn't know where to start, "Well, where's my son? Did Harm take him?"

"Honestly, ma'am, I'm not sure. I didn't see the Commander leave. I'm sorry," Bud apologized.

Mac patted his shoulder, "That's okay Bud," she said quickly before turning and walking away. She went to the admiral's office. She looked at Tiner, "Is the admiral with anyone?" she asked.

"No ma'am, except for-" Tiner started to say, but Mac had already knocked on the admiral's door.

She didn't wait for a response from inside before she opened the door and walked in. The admiral looked up from his desk. "Sir, excuse my interruption, but do you know what Harm did with my son before he left?"

The admiral raised his eyebrows and grinned slightly.

His reaction to her question surprised Mac. She opened her mouth to speak, but the admiral stopped her by saying, "Major, he is right here." The admiral motioned to the chair in front of his desk. Josh peeked around the edge of the oversized chair to look at his mother. He smiled.

"Josh," relief flooded through Mac's body. "Sir, I'm sorry that Harm dumped him on you," she apologized to her CO.

"Actually, major, I asked the commander to leave him with me. I wanted to talk to him; get to know him better," The admiral explained.

This surprised Mac a bit. The admiral smiled at her expression. "Well, sir, if you are done talking to him, we are ready to go home."

"Oh, so you had the meeting. How'd that go?" The admiral asked, an amused smile appeared on his features.

Mac sighed. "Sir, I'm not sure if you really want to know. We went over what I wanted, but-"

The admiral laughed, "He has spirit?"

"Well, I guess you could put it like that sir." Mac replied.

The admiral smiled, "Go ahead and take Josh home then. I'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes, sir, I'll be here," Mac answered. She was genuinely excited to return to work. She looked down at Josh, "Come on squirt," she said and reached out her hand.

Josh jumped out of the chair and took her hand in his. Mac smiled down at him.

"Bye, Josh," the admiral said, "Remember what I told you okay?"

"Yes, sir," the little boy answered.

Mac looked at the admiral. She began to wonder what they had talked about while she was gone. The admiral smiled and winked at her. She frowned in confusion and looked down at Josh before shrugging her confusion off. The little boy smiled up at her, feeling important for knowing something that she didn't. She and Josh said their goodbyes before leaving the admiral's office.

They passed by Tiner's desk. "You could have told me Josh was with him, Tiner," Mac said.

"I tried, ma'am," Tiner replied and watched Mac and Josh walk away with a puzzled expression. He thought about what had just happened for a moment before returning to his work.

-

1758 Local Time

**Mac's Apartment**

Mac was on the couch helping Josh get caught up on his schoolwork. In between helping Josh, Mac tried to get caught up on her own work. She was in the middle of making a note in the margin of a paper when there was a knock on the door. She moved the pile of paper son her lap to the coffee table and walked to get the door. She glanced through the peephole. Harm. He had been coming around a lot lately. Not that she minded, she liked his company, and he had been a huge help with Josh. Still, she wondered what was his motivation was- Josh or her. She smiled, pushed her thoughts away, and opened the door.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey," he repeated. He looked at Josh who was still sitting on the couch. "I see you found him," he motioned towards Josh.

Mac rolled her eyes and smiled, "Yeah, after having a thorough panic attack. You could have left me a note, you know."

"Aw, I'm sorry Mac. I guess I didn't think about it too much," Harm tried to explain.

"It's okay," Mac chuckled a little before stepping aside to motion Harm inside.

He walked into the living room, his hands in his pockets. He walked over to the couch to see what Josh was doing. "Homework, huh?" he said while looking over Josh's shoulder.

Josh groaned, "I'm kind of behind."

"That's okay, Josh, you'll catch up in no time," Harm tried to comfort him. Josh sighed in response.

"So, did you need something Harm?" Mac struggled with the words, not wanting it to sound like she wanted him to leave.

"Well, I just wanted to apologize for leaving the office so suddenly, and having to leave Josh with the admiral," Harm said.

"Harm, I'm used to your leaving suddenly. It's part of the job. I'm not sure why you feel you need to justify it to me," Mac said with a soft smile.

Harm wasn't sure how to answer without sounding like a sap, so he decided to change the subject. "Have you two eaten yet?"

Mac eyed him, his sudden topic change arousing her curiosity. "I was about to make dinner," she said, still skeptically eyeing him.

"We could go eat someplace," Harm suggested, "I haven't eaten yet either."

"That'd be nice, but Josh and I have to catch up on our work."

"Oh," Harm seemed disappointed, "We could order pizza."

Josh looked up from his work when he heard this. He smiled hopefully. Mac laughed at her son's expression.

"You don't even like pizza, Harm," Mac said.

Harm looked surprised, "Since when?"

"Since always!"

"I just don't like all the greasy meat and stuff they put on it. I'll order a veggie one," Harm said.

Mac looked down at Josh. He was still smiling up at her. She rolled her eyes, "Oookay," she gave in.

"Yay!," Josh bounced on the couch.

"Excellent, I'll call it in," Harm said. He headed to the kitchen to get the phone.

Mac watched him. She cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what had changed to make him so attentive. Was it Josh? Was it her? No, he wasn't doing this for her, she decided. She pushed the thoughts aside and went back to the couch to work until the pizza arrived.

-

To be Continued… 


	13. When You're Gone

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations mentioned in this story. _

A/n: Managed to get a chapter out today. Thanks again for all the kind remarks. It makes all the work worth it. Enjoy, and don't forget to let me know what you think!

-

0924 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Three weeks later**

Harm and Mac entered the admiral's office and stood at attention in front of his desk.

"At ease," the admiral said before sitting down and motioning for them to do the same.

They sat and looked at their CO with their full attention. The admiral opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He hesitated for a moment before seemingly changing his mind about his wording. "Mac, how is Josh doing?" he asked after a few tense moments.

Both Harm and Mac were puzzled at his question.

"Uh, he's just fine, sir," Mac answered slowly.

"That's good," the admiral said with a nod, "Because I am sending you to France to conduct a JAGMAN investigation."

Mac's jaw dropped, "France, sir?"

The admiral nodded.

"We don't even have a naval base in France," Mac protested.

"You won't be going to a base, Major. This case involves the off duty actions of a sailor," the admiral clarified.

"How long will I be gone, sir?" Mac asked.

"As long as it takes. Though, I don't expect the investigation to last more than a week or so," the admiral replied.

Mac looked down at her lap and interwove her fingers. She knew her job took her out of town, but she hadn't expected the admiral to send her out so soon after Josh's accident. He was still recovering, and he attended physical therapy sessions three times a week.

"Josh can stay with his grandparents, can't he?" Harm asked.

Mac shook her head, "He has therapy at Bethesda. He can't afford to miss a week. And I can't pull him out of school like that. It's not fair."

"They could stay with him at your apartment," Harm suggested.

Again, Mac shook her head, "They can't leave the farm unattended that long. I mean, if I really asked, they would come, but, I can't do that to them, not after all they've done for me."

Harm looked down at his lap too. The admiral watched both of them carefully.

Mac looked up suddenly, as if she had an idea. "Hey, do you think you-" she started to ask Harm before the admiral interrupted her.

"Don't ask, Major. I am sending Harm with you to France. Though this case is pretty straightforward, one of the individuals involved doesn't particularly care for marines. I am sending Harm to help ease communication. "

Mac's shoulders slumped. Not only did she have to find someone to look after Josh, she had to look forward to dealing with difficult people. Great.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out Major," the admiral said.

The admiral proceeded to brief them on their case, though Mac struggled to keep her focus. She was distracted by her predicament with Josh.

-

Harm and Mac walked through the bullpen on the way back to their offices.

"France, here we come," Harm said with mock enthusiasm.

Mac rolled her eyes.

"France?" came a voice from behind them. Mac turned to see Harriet.

"Unfortunately," commented Mac.

"I can think of worse places, ma'am," Harriet said.

"Yeah, I can too," Mac admitted, "But I don't know what to do with Josh."

"He's welcome to stay with Bud and I, ma'am," Harriet offered.

"Really?" Mac asked, hope returning.

"Of course, ma'am. He can stay as long as you need. We can bring him to school and everything," Harriet seemed excited.

Mac smiled, "Do you think you could bring him to Bethesda for his therapy sessions too?"

"Of course, ma'am. We'll do whatever needs to be done."

"Are you sure? We are leaving this afternoon. It's such short notice, I know."

"Absolutely ma'am. Joshua is like family."

"Oh my gosh, Harriet. I don't know what to say. You are a lifesaver. I honestly don't know what I would have done if you hadn't offered." Mac hugged Harriet tightly. They walked to Mac's office so that they could go over the details. "Our plane leaves this afternoon. I am going to pack Josh's bags and leave them in my apartment. Here is a spare key," Mac pulled a key out of her desk drawer. "I'll also leave his medical information, emergency numbers, and all of my contact information. I'm going to pass by his school on my way out to tell him goodbye," Mac was rushing her word, "Oh, and I'll have to make sure his daycare knows that you or Bud will be picking him up. Now, he knows his bedtime is 2030, so don't let him trick you. His school starts at 0830, so I usually wake him up at about 0745," Mac paused to catch her breath.

"Ma'am," Harriet interjected, "Everything will be fine. If we have question we'll call."

Mac stared blankly at her, as if she wasn't really listening, "Oh, and his lunches, of course. You can either send him with some lunch money or pack him one. I'll make sure to leave you enough money to take care of his expenses. I don't want you to pay for anything out of your own pocket. In fact," Mac paused to pull a credit card out of her purse, "Take this and use it for anything you need for him. If Joshua gives you any trouble just-"

"Ma'am," Harriet said, "Take a deep breath. Everything will be fine."

Mac did as she suggested and tried to relax a bit, "I know," she said after a moment of deep breaths, "But, he's my baby, you know. And I'll be across the globe. It's not like I can just run home if something goes awry."

"I know ma'am," Harriet put a hand on Mac's shoulder, "Bud and I can handle him."

"Oh, I have full faith and trust in you two, Harriet, it's just hard to leave him," Mac explained.

Harriet gave her a sympathetic smile. "Go take care of what you need to do before you leave ma'am. Josh will be well taken care of. I promise."

Mac smiled gratefully, "Thanks so much Harriet."

"No problem ma'am," Harriet said before Mac left to get ready for her trip.

-

1146 Local Time

**Georgetown Day School**

Mac had called Josh's school on her way there, so he was waiting for her in the office. She walked in and saw that Josh looked sad. She knelt down in front of him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Do you have to go?" Josh asked quietly.

"Yeah, baby, I do. I'm so sorry," Mac muttered into his hair. Josh's sad question broke Mac's heart. "Lieutenant Roberts and Ensign Simms are going to take care of you okay? You'll be staying at their house."

Josh nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now, you be good for them, okay?" Mac told Josh, still holding him tightly.

Josh nodded again.

"I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with them. I'll call you every chance I get, and I'll be home before you know it. I promise."

Josh sniffled. Mac closed her eyes to keep from tearing up. "And if you're really good, I'll bring you something special back from France," Mac added.

Josh smiled at this. Mac chuckled. "You need to go back to class now. Do you want me to walk you back?"

Josh nodded eagerly. He always liked to show his mother's uniform off. Mac smiled and stood up, taking his small hand in hers. She glanced at the principal and smiled. "Thanks for pulling him out of class for me."

"It was no trouble, ma'am. He's a great student. We are blessed to have him. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him while you're gone," the principal said with a genuine smile.

Mac smiled graciously, "Thanks so much."

Josh tugged his mother away and through the school halls. Mac smiled at the awed looks she received from some of the children they passed. Had they never seen a military person before? When they got to Josh's classroom, he stopped and made sure that she hugged and kissed him before they went inside. Apparently, it was "uncool" to be kissed by your mother in front of your friends, even if she was a marine.

She crouched down and hugged him tightly. She buried her face in his hair, inhaling his smell, trying to get enough of it to last her through her trip.

"I'm going to miss you so much baby," she murmured.

"I'm gunna miss you too mommy," Josh replied.

"I love you Josh," Mac said, looking her son in the eye.

"I love you too," Josh said, looking back at her.

Mac hugged him again. "You're such a big, brave boy Josh. I'm so proud of you."  
Josh sighed and tightened his grip on her. After a few moments he pulled out of her grasp. "I need to go back to class."

Mac smiled at his maturity. He was growing up so fast. "Okay," she stood up.

Josh pushed his classroom door open and walked in. Mac followed him and stopped in the doorway. The teacher smiled at her. She smiled back, and noted all the kids in the room, staring at her with their mouths open. What was it with these kids? She laughed it off, and noticed that Josh looked proud as he took a seat at his table. She waved to him, and he waved back. With one last glance, she walked out of the room and out of the building.

-

1325 Local Time

**Dulles International Airport**

Harm and Mac sat next to each other in the gate at the airport, waiting for their flight. Harm was flipping through a newspaper. He looked at Mac who was looking down at the cover of a magazine in her lap. She was idly tangling her fingers together.

"You okay Mac?" He asked, putting his paper down.

Mac looked up, "Yeah, just missing Josh."

"We haven't even left yet," Harm teased.

"Yeah. Tell me about it," Mac muttered.

"I'm sorry Mac," Harm realized his words may have sounded insensitive.

"It's okay. It's silly for me to worry this much," Mac said, trying to smile.

"You are leaving your kid, the center of your life, for a week or more. You'll be on the other side of the world. You won't be able to kiss him goodnight or fix him breakfast in the morning. You have the right to be concerned," Harm said gently.

Mac smiled. "Well, when you put it like that, maybe I should worry more," Mac teased.

"Aw, you're leaving Josh in good hands. Hell, I don't know why you even considered for a moment leaving him with me," Harm said, his eyes growing large.

Mac laughed, "I trust you Harm."

"Are you sure that's wise? I don't trust me sometimes," Harm said, half joking.

She rolled her eyes and swatted him with the magazine she was holding. "I think you'd make a good dad," she commented.

He raised his eyebrows at this remark. He was saved from replying by the announcement of their flight number.

Mac glanced at her boarding pass, "That's us," she said as she stood up. She grabbed her carry-on bag and waited for Harm to stand up before they walked together to the desk. The woman behind the counter checked their passes before motioning them to the ramp that led to the plane. Harm hesitated as he watched Mac walk to the plane. What was her comment supposed to mean? Was it an observation? A hint? Sure he'd thought about it. Being a dad, or, rather, a father figure to Josh. Harm would like that. But was that what Mac wanted? Why did women always have to speak in coded messages?

Mac noticed he wasn't following and she turned around. "You coming sailor?" she asked teasingly.

"Yeah," Harm shook the thoughts from his head, "Right behind you."

"_Forever,"_ he thought to himself as he followed her to the plane.

-

To Be Continued… 


	14. Hotel California

_Please see first chapter for disclaimers. Again, I own none of the locations or characters, and any resemblances of fictional locations or people to actual ones are purely coincidental. _

A/N: I had fun writing this chapter, although figuring out the time zone differences made me head hurt, so if there are any mathematical errors, please forgive me. ^.^ Enjoy, and please don't forget to review!

_-_

0634 Local Time

**Marseille Province Airport**

**Marseille, France**

-

Harm and Mac walked through the airport, trying to make their way to the entrance to catch a cab to their hotel. The airport was busy with people bustling in and out, everyone seeming to know exactly where they were going. When Harm and Mac finally found the main entrance, they fought for a cab.

"Why did the admiral send me?" Mac asked while trying desperately to flag down a cab, "I don't know French."

"Knowing you, I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time," Harm replied as a taxi drove past without noticing them.

Mac gave an unenthusiastic chuckle before leaping into the road and putting her hands on her hips. She gave a cab driver a seductive smile. The taxi slammed on the brakes and the driver smiled back. Mac looked at Harm who was staring at her with a look of horror and amazement. She laughed as she walked back over to him to grab her bags. She threw her bags into the trunk and watched him hesitate before doing the same. He smiled and shook his head a bit.

"Amazing," he muttered under his breath. They climbed into the back seat of the cab.

"Where can I take you mademoiselle?" the driver asked in a thick French accent.

"Um," Mac hesitated and looked at their itinerary, "The Berlioz Hotel."

The driver raised his eyebrows, "Interesting choice."

Mac furrowed her brow. Whatever his comment was supposed to mean, it certainly wasn't her choice.

After a few minutes of traveling through the crowded streets, they were stopped at a traffic signal. "Are you honeymooning?" asked the driver, trying to make conversation to break the awkward silence in the car.

Harm and Mac glanced at each other. "No, we are here on business," Mac replied.

"Business?" the driver inquired.

"Uh, yeah," Mac said. Why did she always get stuck with nosy taxi drivers? "We're US military."

"Ah, I see," the driver replied while glancing over his shoulder to negotiate traffic. "You certainly don't look like military," he continued.

Mac chuckled. People often told her that. Harm shifted in his seat. The conversation was beginning to make him uncomfortable. The driver glared at him through the rear view mirror. Harm stared back at him.

"Here we are," the driver said, not breaking his glare. "The Berlioz Hotel."

Mac looked out of the window at the decrepit building. Above the door hung a shabby sign that said 'Berlioz.' Mac sighed. Whoever planned their arrangements was surely thoughtful.

Harm paid the driver before they got out of the cab. "Have a safe trip," the driver said. He eyed Harm coldly before softening his look towards Mac. Mac smiled before pulling their luggage out of the trunk and setting it on the curb. The cab drove off with a squeal and left Harm and Mac alone on the street.

Harm picked up the luggage and headed towards the door. "Quite a place," he said sarcastically as they walked.

Mac answered with a depressed sigh.

-

Once inside the building they walked to the front desk where a bored young man sat.

"Hi. Reservations for Mackenzie and Rabb," Mac addressed the man, praying he spoke English.

The man nodded and flipped through a dusty book. "Room 15," the man said and pulled the last set of keys off the wall. He held them out to Mac before leaning back in his chair.

"Wait, we should have two rooms," Mac objected.

"I only have you down for one," the man said, unconcerned.

"Well, can we add one?" Harm asked, stepping up to the desk.

The man smiled, "Sorry, no more vacancies."

Mac doubted the hotel had any business, much less fully booked. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Let me check," the man smiled and rolled his eyes upwards. He sat in silence for a second, "Nope, no more vacancies. Enjoy your stay."

Mac glared at him before yanking the keys from his outstretched hand. She swiveled away and down the hall with Harm closely following her with their bags. They located room 15 towards the end of the hall. Mac stuck the key in the lock. A rather useless lock, she decided. Someone could easily kick the door down if they wanted to. She pushed the door open and held it open for Harm and the luggage. Harm set the bags down inside the entrance and they both glanced around the small room. The only furniture in the room was a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand with a lamp. There was a dirty window and a door that they assumed led to the bathroom.

"Well. This is… cozy," Harm commented.

Mac attempted a chuckle as she sat on the edge of the bed. It groaned painfully under her weight. She bounced up and down a little. It squeaked loudly. "Oh, that's nice," she muttered looking down at the bed. Harm let out a single chuckle and picked their bags up and set them on the dresser.

Mac leaned back on the bed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I should be sleeping right now."

"No chance of that. We have our first interview at 0745. We should probably get some breakfast first," Harm said.

Mac sat back up and groaned at the prospect of going to work when she should be going to bed.

"Didn't you sleep on the plane?" Harm asked as Mac got a brush out of her suitcase and ran it through her hair.

"No, I was too busy being your pillow," Mac teased.

"So that's why my neck hurts," Harm said as he tried to rub the crick out.

Mac rolled her eyes.

"You could have woken me up Mac."

"I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. I can never sleep on planes," Mac said while she dug around in her purse for her lipstick. "Besides," Mac walked to the mirror in the tiny bathroom, "It was kind of cute," Mac smacked her newly painted lips and smiled at him. Harm watched her absentmindedly as she gathered her purse and the room key. She walked to the door and stopped. "Are we going eat or what?"

"Yeah, let's go," Harm said, shaking his head to snap back to reality. Mac looked up at him, curious at his odd expression. He smiled down at her, opened the door, and gestured her through. She cocked her head to the side before walking through the door.

-

0806 Local Time

**Roberts Residence**

"Come on Josh," Harriet called down the hall, "We're going to be late."

Josh walked out the guest room groggily rubbing his eyes.

Harriet grabbed Josh's backpack and coat and waited for him by the door. He trudged up to her.

"Are you always this tired in the morning sweetie?" Harriet asked tenderly as she helped him put his jacket on.

Josh shrugged.

Harriet ruffled his hair. "It'll get easier hon. I know you miss her."

Josh sighed and shrugged again. He grabbed his backpack from Harriet and slipped it on.

"Oh, don't forget your lunch Josh," Harriet said before dashing off to the kitchen to get his lunchbox off the counter. She soon returned and handed it to him with a smile. She grabbed her keys from the hook on the wall, placed a hand on her shoulder, and led him out the door.

-

2031 Local Time

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseille, France**

Harm and Mac entered their hotel room, having just finished interviewing the last individual of the day. Mac flopped onto the bed, too exhausted to care about the horrible noise the springs made. Harm walked across the room and took his wallet and the room key out of his back pocket and placed them on the dresser.

"I need to call Harriet and check up on Josh," Mac said, lying on her back.

"Okay," Harm said as he dug around in his suitcase, "I'm going to take a shower while you do that."

Mac nodded and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. Harm walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Mac dialed Harriet's number. She heard the groan of the pipes as the shower started in the next room.

Harriet answered on the third ring, _"Ensign Simms."_

"Harriet, hi," Mac said into the phone.

"Major! It's nice to hear from you. I assume the flight was well and you and the commander are safe in France, yes?"

"Yeah, Harriet. We got here early this morning… or late last night, your time," Mac said, "How's Josh doing."

"_Fine ma'am," _Harriet replied, _"He was tired this morning, but we got to school on time and in one piece. He's probably eating lunch about now, ma'am."_

"Good, I'm glad to hear things are going well over there," Mac said, relieved.

"He wants to know if you could call him before he goes to bed. I think it would help him to sleep better."

"I'll try Harriet. I'll set my alarm to wake me up during the night," Mac cringed internally at the thought of waking up to make a phone call, but was excited at the prospect of talking to Josh and hearing his voice.

"That'll work ma'am. I'll tell him to-"

"AH!" Harm yelped loudly from the bathroom. He followed it with a string of swear words.

"Uh, hang on a second Harriet," Mac muttered into the phone. She lowered the phone away from her ear and called into the other room, "You okay in there Harm?"

"Yeah," Harm's voice floated through the thin walls, "There's no hot water."

Mac groaned and lifted the phone back to her ear.

"_Is everything okay ma'am?"_ Harriet asked.

"Yeah, Harriet, we are just staying in the hotel from hell," Mac answered, "Harm just discovered we have no hot water in our bathroom."

"_So you two are sharing a room?"_ Harriet asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, apparently we only had one room reserved for us, and, of course, there were no more vacancies," Mac explained.

"_I see. One bed, I presume,"_ Harriet asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Harrieeeeet," Mac drew out her name. Mac chuckled in her mind. Harriet always kept her hopes up. "We haven't figured that one out yet," Mac added.

"I'm sorry Major. I'm sure you and the commander will remain completely professional no matter what decision you reach."

Mac chuckled at Harriet's choice of wording, "It's okay Harriet. Frankly, I'm so exhausted, I could sleep anywhere," Mac said before yawning.

"Well then, I should let you get some rest, ma'am. I assure you everything is fine on this end."

"Okay Harriet, thanks again," Mac said.

"Our pleasure ma'am. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, later Harriet," Mac replied before flipping her phone closed.

She fell back on the bed just as Harm walked out of the bathroom clothed in a T-Shirt and boxers.

"You're turn," He said with chattering teeth.

Mac sat up quickly. She longed for a shower, even if it was a cold one. She rummaged through her own suitcase before pulling out her toiletries and pajamas.

"I'll be right out," she said before closing the bathroom door.

Harm nodded, more to himself than to her, and collapsed on the bed.

Five minutes and 42 seconds later, Mac emerged from the bathroom and found Harm sound asleep. She returned her toiletry bag to her suitcase before setting her alarm clock to wake her up at 0300 to call Josh. She nudged Harm awake.

"Care to scoot over?" she asked after he blinked his eyes open.

"Oh, yeah. I can sleep on the floor," he said, making a motion to stand up.

"Of course not Harm," Mac said, "That floor is disgusting. Just sleep in the bed."

Harm hesitated before moving to one side of the bed and slipping under the covers. Mac slid into the other side. When they were both situated and the bed had stopped squeaking, Mac leaned to turn off the light.

"Night Harm," Mac said after the light was off.

"G'night Mac," Harm muttered.

Soon, they were both asleep, too tired to make the situation awkward.

-

_To be continued…_


	15. Reassurance

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/n: Sorry for taking a while to update. I've been busy! This chapter is longer than some of the others I believe… So… enjoy!

-

0557 Local Time Tuesday

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseille, France**

Mac awoke suddenly, knowing the alarm was about to go off. She rolled from her side to her back, cringing at the noise the bed made. She stretched her arms above her head and then out to the side. The back of her hand hit against Harm's forehead.

"Ow," Harm muttered.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you were there," Mac said drowsily. It was a lie, and she knew it. The whole night, even when she was sleeping, she sensed his presence next to her. She realized that it was actually comforting, and was a feeling she hadn't experienced since Michael died.

Harm didn't reply, and they both laid in silence for a few minutes before the alarm went off. Mac groaned and sat up to turn it off. After doing so, she fell back on the bed.

"I guess we should get up," Harm said after a few more minutes.

"Guess so," Mac replied after a moment, "I'm so tired."

"That's because you talked to Josh for like an hour last night," Harm said, his voice thick with sleep.

"We only talked for 15 minutes. And he had so much to say," Mac smiled, "Do you realize how difficult it is to explain time zones to a six year old?"

Harm chuckled but didn't say anything else.

"And you were squirming all night," Mac added after a few moments of silence, "You kept waking me up."

"It's not my fault this damn bed makes so much noise," Harm rebutted. Now that he was finally waking up, he began kicking himself in his mind. Here he was, next to Mac, in bed, where he had been for an entire night, and what did he do? He slept. Why did he have to be so tired last night? His thoughts were interrupted when Mac threw the covers off of herself and climbed out the bed. He watched her in silence as she unpacked a clean uniform and made her way to the bathroom. He finally sat up when she closed the door. He pulled his own uniform out of his suitcase and placed it on the bed and walked to the window to wait for Mac to get out of the bathroom. The only thing he could see through the grimy window was the building next door. "Hm, room with a view, I see," he muttered to himself. He walked back to the bed and sat down on the edge. He ran a hand through his hair, yawned, and stretched. After a few minutes, when Mac still hadn't come out of the bathroom, he decided to go ahead and get dressed. He slipped his T-shirt off to replace it with a white undershirt.

Mac came out of the bathroom to see a half-naked Harm rummaging through his suitcase for a shirt. She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I have to admit, this view is a nice way to start the day," she teased.

Harm jumped at hearing her voice. He swiveled around and leaned against the dresser in an attempt to look casual.

Mac chuckled at his blushing face. "You can have the bathroom," she threw her pajamas on the bed and began to look for her shoes, "If you want it," she added with a sly smile.

Harm, undershirt in hand, rolled his eyes. He swiftly yanked his uniform off the bed and glared at Mac with a hint of a smile as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Mac laughed at the incident and began to tidy the room.

-

1634 Local Time Tuesday Georgetown Child Care Georgetown, Washington DC

"Hi Josh, how was your day?" Bud asked as he walked the little boy to their vehicle after picking him up from the daycare center.

"Fine," the boy replied while giving a pebble in the parking lot a kick.

"Did you learn anything interesting?" Bud tried to get the boy to open up.

Josh shrugged, "I guess so."

"Like what?" Bud prodded.

"I dunno."

Bud frowned a little as he opened the car door and helped Josh to get strapped in.

"Well, I learned something interesting today," Bud said, giving Josh a bright smile. Bud hoped that starting an energetic conversation would get Josh's attention.

Josh didn't acknowledge him.

Bud gave him a sideways glance before continuing, "You see, I was talking to Commander Imes, and we somehow got on the topic of historic naval battles and-" Bud stopped when he gave Josh another glance and noticed the little boy wasn't paying attention. He frowned and decided not to continue the conversation. They drove in silence for a few minutes.

"Josh," Bud started in a tone more serious than before, "What's bothering you?"

Josh looked down in his lap.

"Do you miss your mom?" Bud asked sympathetically.

Josh gave a small nod.

"I know it's hard Josh," Bud said, "but she'll be home before you know it. I promise."

"How do you know?" Josh asked quietly.

"Know what?" Bud asked.

"That momma will come home."

Bud frowned, "Is that what's bothering you Josh? You're afraid that something will happen to her?"

"Yeah," came Josh's quiet reply.

"Aw, Josh," Bud said, "I know it must be scary for your mom to be in the military, but Major Mackenzie is one of the strongest women I know."

"Really?" Josh asked, looking up at Bud.

Bud smiled, "Yep. She can get herself out of any sticky situation."

Bud saw a small smile appear on Josh's face.

"What is she doing in France?" Josh asked. He hadn't been too curious about it before then.

"Well," Bus tried to word things simply, "She and Commander Rabb are interviewing people and investigating a situation up there."

"Why?"

Bud was happy that Josh was finally talking, so he did his best to answer his questions, "So they can gain enough information to form a report to give to the admiral," Bud said, hoping he kept things simple enough for Josh to understand.

"Oh," Josh seemed satisfied with the explanation.

Bud pulled into a parking space at their apartment complex. "What do you want to eat tonight Josh?"

"Pizza?" Josh suggested hopefully.

"Pizza, huh?" Bud smiled, "I think that could work."

Josh grinned as he grabbed his backpack and hopped out of the car.

Bud smiled and watched Josh scramble up the stairs.

**-**

2046 Local Time

**Tuesday**

**Streets of Marseille, France**

"That was really good food," Mac commented. She and Harm were walking back to their hotel from the restaurant where they had eaten dinner.

"Yes, it was," Harm agreed as he looked down at the street beneath their feet. They were walking at a leisurely pace. It was enjoyable to watch the people bustle around the busy streets. It would be even more enjoyable, Harm thought, if he could wrap an arm around Mac's shoulder or hold her hand. He glanced at her. She looked deep in thought.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Harm prodded after observing her for a few minutes.

"I'm just thinking about our case," Mac said, looking up.

"Oh," Harm said with slight disappointment. He had hoped she was thinking about something else, like... him, for instance. "What about it?" He asked. "It seems pretty straightforward to me."

"Exactly," Mac replied. After receiving a confused look from Harm she continued, "Why are we here Harm? Why does it take two of us to investigate the questionable off duty actions of a petty officer? What are we missing? It has to be more complicated than this."

Harm chuckled, "Not everything has to be complicated Mac."

"Okay," Mac said, temporarily accepting that solution, "Say that is the case. Why send both of us?"

Harm raised his eyebrows, "Are you complaining?"

Mac was taken off guard. She was ecstatic that Harm was with her, otherwise, the trip would have been torture. "No, it's just.. odd, that's all."

"I think," Harm said as they neared the hotel, "That you just aren't used to things being simple." He held the door open for her.

"Funny," she replied flatly and walked through the door.

Harm grinned and followed her down the hall and into their room. It was freezing inside.

"The heater must have broken," Harm observed.

Mac groaned, "Why not? Nothing else works. The heater might as well break too."

Mac placed her purse on the nightstand, removed her scarf and coat, and kicked her heels off. After removing his own coat, Harm emptied the contents of his pockets onto the dresser.

"Are you taking a shower tonight?" he asked Mac as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Mac shook her head, "Not unless the hot water is working. It's just too cold," she shivered.

Harm nodded in acknowledgement and walked into the bathroom. He turned the hot water on and waited a few minutes to see if it would warm up. Mac leaned in the doorframe, "Any luck?" she asked.

Harm ran a hand under the water, and snapped it back quickly, "No, it's freezing."

Mac groaned and turned back towards the bedroom. Harm shut the water off and did the same. Mac grabbed her pajamas and toothbrush and went back to the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later. Harm had already changed and was lying under the covers of the bed. She shivered and slipped into the bed. After making sure she set the alarm clock she switched the lamp off.

"Are you tired?" Harm asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No, I'm too cold to sleep," Mac replied.

"Same here," he agreed.

Silence surrounded them once more until Mac felt something cold brush against her leg.

She jumped, "Harm! Is that your foot?" she yelped.

"Yeah, sorry," Harm apologized quickly. He was glad it was too dark for Mac to see how red his face was.

"Your toes are freezing!" Mac exclaimed, ignoring his apology.

"In case you haven't noticed, Mac, it's quite cold in here," Harm rebutted. Before he could say anything else he felt one of Mac's arms slip under him and she wrapper her other arm over his chest. She moved her body over to him until they were both pressed up against each other. He tensed, "Not that this isn't fine and dandy, but, what… what are you doing Mac?"

"We're both cold. We have to share our body heat," Mac said seriously, then her grip on him loosened, "Unless this is too awkward," she said disappointed.

Too awkward? It was great. "NO!" Harm exclaimed with more energy than he intended. He wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't going to let this moment slip away from him that easily.

Mac chuckled, "Good," she said as she tightened her grip. They listened to each other breathing until they both drifted off into sleep.

**-**

0300 Local Time

**Wednesday**

**Marseille, France**

The sound of the alarm startled Mac. At first, she didn't know what it was, but after coming to her senses, she remembered about her scheduled phone call to Josh. Harm's arm was still draped over her, and she tried to move it off without waking him up. She moved away from the comfort of his heat to turn the alarm off. She fumbled in the dark until she found her cell phone on the nightstand and pressed a number to speed dial Bud and Harriet's apartment. She sat straighter in the bed while she waited for someone on the other end to pick up.

"_Hello?" _came Harriet's voice through the phone.

"Hi, Harriet, how is everything?" Mac asked sleepily.

"_Oh, hello ma'am,"_ Harriet became excited, _"Everything is just fine. Josh is in the bathtub."_

"Well, that's okay. It gives me a chance to chat with you," Mac said with a smile.

Harriet chuckled, _"How is France, ma'am?"_

"Chilly," Mac answered with a shiver, "The heater in our room broke."

"_I'm sorry ma'am,"_ Harriet replied sympathetically, _"How is the case coming?"_

"It's been quite dull, actually. I think the admiral was expecting it to be more complicated than this," Mac said. Harm moved next to her.

"What's going on Mac?" he mumbled drowsily.  
Mac moved the phone from her mouth, "I'm talking to Harriet. Go back to sleep."

"Is Bud there?" Harm asked.

"I don't know; I'll ask," Mac replied. She brought the phone back to her mouth. "Harriet, Harm wants to know if Bud is home."

"Yeah, Bud is right here. Does he want to talk to him?"

"Do you want to talk to Bud?" Mac asked Harm.

"Yeah," Harm mumbled as he sat up in bed, "It won't take long."

Mac shrugged, "Harriet, I'm giving the phone to Harm," she held the phone out to Harm.

"Hey Harriet," Harm said into the phone after he took it from Mac, "…yeah, everything is fine… can I talk to Bud?" he waited while Harriet got Bud, "Bud! Hey… yeah… things are going great… Hey, listen, I have a favor. I need you to look up the history of petty officer third class Mark Laael…. lima alpha alpha echo lima… right… just anything that seems odd… exactly… thanks Bud… yeah… I'm giving you over to Mac now… yep, you too… bye Bud," with that Harm handed the phone back to Mac, ignoring her curious glance. He sank back down under the covers.

"Bud?" Mac asked into the phone.

"No, it's Harriet, ma'am. Bud went to the computer."

"Oh, that's fine. So is anything else new?" Mac asked.

"_Not really ma'am," _Harriet answered quickly, _"So that was Commander Rabb, huh?"_

Mac could see where this conversation was going, "Yes, Harriet," Mac chuckled. "Look, whatever you think happened, you're wrong. So whatever you're thinking… stop."

"_I didn't say anything ma'am!" _Harriet tried to sound innocent.

"No, but you were thinking it," Mac said, grinning. She heard Harriet giggle.

"Look, whatever is going on over there, I think it is good."

"Harriet! Nothing is going on!"

"_Oh look," _Harriet changed the subject, _"Here comes Josh."_

Mac heard the phone change hands.

"_Hi mommy!" _Josh's young voice floated through the phone.

Mac grinned, "Hi baby. How was your day?"

"It was fine. We had pizza for supper."

"Did you?" Mac smiled, "Are you being good for the Roberts?"

"_Yes, of course I am," _Josh giggled. _"When are you coming home?"_

"I don't know baby. Soon, I hope. I miss you so much."

"I miss you too mommy."

"So what did you do in school today?" Mac asked to change the subject to something more cheery.

"_A bunch of stuff…" _Josh began. They continued to talk for a few more minutes until Josh had to go to bed. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Mac sat in silence for a few minutes. She put the phone back on the nightstand and reset the alarm clock to wake them up later in the morning. She snuggled back down into the center of the bed, searching for Harm's warmth. Harm, still awake, wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. Like before, they drifted into sleep once more.

-

To be Continued… 


	16. Marseille Magic

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/N: Wow, so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had a bad case of writer's block, and I wanted to make sure this chapter was to my liking before posting it. I'm still not 100 percent pleased with it, but I like it well enough to put it up here. Enjoy! And please don't forget to review!

_-_

0613 Local Time Wednesday

**Marseilles, France**

Mac woke up to the smell of cold air and the feeling that she was late for something. Suddenly she realized her alarm clock hadn't gone off. Confused, she stretched her arm out to her side. The bed was cold and Harm was gone. She quickly sat up in bed and glanced around the room. It was empty and the bathroom door was open, revealing that no one was inside. Harm's cover was on the dresser next to his suitcase. She looked around for a note or a message to let her know where he went. Nothing. She checked her phone to make sure he hadn't tried to call. Again, nothing. Becoming concerned, she jumped out of bed to get dressed. As she tore apart her suitcase in search of a shirt she tried to think of the places Harm could be. He couldn't be on JAG business; he would have his cover with him. She sat down on the bed while trying to button her blouse. Her anxious fumbling caused one of the buttons to pop off and roll under the dresser.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, louder than she meant to.

The door to the room opened, "Mac? Are you okay?" Harm asked while walking inside.

"Harm!" Mac leapt to her feet. "Where the hell were you?"

Harm seemed confused at Mac's worry, "Captain Whitmore called. Our interview was pushed back, so we don't have to go in until this afternoon. I thought I would get breakfast," he said as he held up a white box, "I wanted to surprise you with donuts." He frowned slightly at the exasperated look on Mac's face, "Surprise," he offered a smile.

Mac rolled her eyes and sat back on the bed. "Thank you Harm, but I was worried sick. You could have left a note."

"I did," Harm replied.

"Where?"

"On the bathroom mirror. I figured if you woke up before I got back, that would be one of the first places you'd go."

"The mirror? Really?"

"I'm sorry Mac, next time I'll leave the note on your gun," Harm teased.

"Very funny," Mac said as she took the box of donuts from Harm. "I guess I overreacted a little."

Harm sat beside her on the bed. "Oh, that's okay. I would have done the same thing," he smiled. For a few moments they sat in silence as Mac ate a chocolate donut. Mac's still unbuttoned shirt caught Harm's attention. He knew he should mention it to her, but he _really_ didn't want to. He felt his ears get hot. "Uh, Mac, you're shirt is uh..." he stuttered as he gestured towards his own chest.

Mac blushed deeply. She shoved the rest of the donut into her mouth and buttoned as many buttons as she could. Harm stifled a chuckle. "Not a word Rabb," Mac warned seriously, but with a hint of a smile.

Harm held his hands up in defense. Mac giggled.

"What are we going to do this morning?" she asked.

"We could go walk around town. See the sights," Harm suggested.

"That could be fun," Mac mused, "I need to find a souvenir for Josh..."

"And then after, we could go eat lunch at this little bistro I saw this morning," Harm added.

"Mmm, sounds good," Mac grinned and grabbed another donut.

-

0813 Local Time

**Wednesday**

**Streets of Marseille, France**

"Oooh, let's go in here!" Mac pulled Harm towards the entrance of a woman's clothing store.

Harm groaned, but followed her. "I thought we were looking for Josh's gift?" he grumbled.

"We are," Mac replied with a devious smile. She glanced around the store with a look of childlike amusement.

"Ahh, yes, I'm sure Josh would love a nice… dress." Harm cocked an eyebrow as he ran a hand over a yellow dress on a hanger.

"I figure that it won't take all morning to find Josh a souvenir, so we might as well take our time," Mac smiled as she held a simple, yet elegant red dress up in front of her. "Like it?"

The back of Harm's neck got warm. "I would like it better if it were on you," he said before he could stop himself.

Mac raised her eyebrows in surprise at the bluntness of his comment, though she certainly didn't mind his remark. She smiled and looked at the price tag. Her jaw dropped. "Never mind. Too expensive."

"You could still try it on," Harm's words escaped him once more.

Mac chuckled, "Okay, Harm. For you." She turned around and walked to the dressing rooms.

Harm shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked at his feet as if he was closely examining a speck on the carpet, and began to pace back and forth in front of a large mirror while waiting for Mac.

"Is it as nice as you hoped sailor?" Harm looked up at hearing Mac's voice. She held her hands up and spun around. He thought she looked stunning. The dress hugged her every curve and flowed beautifully behind her as she walked towards him. "Well? What do you think?" Mac prodded after still not receiving any answer from Harm other than an awed look.

Harm gulped and blinked. "It… you... amazing," he managed to stutter out.

He reveled at the sound of Mac's easygoing chuckle. "Well, it should be for the price," Mac looked down at the tag again. "Oh well," she said and turned towards the dressing rooms to change back into her clothes.

Once she started to walk away, Harm snapped back to the current situation. "Wait, Mac," He caught her attention before she closed the door. She stopped and looked at him. "You aren't going to get it?"

"It's two month's rent, Harm!" Mac exclaimed.

"Well... I'll buy it for you," Harm offered with a small smile.

Mac cocked her head to the side. "Harm, you aren't buying clothes for me."

"But-"

"No," and with that Mac closed the door to the changing room.

Harm furrowed his brow. "Stubborn jarhead," he muttered to himself and shoved his hands back in his pockets. He wanted her to have that dress. She needed it. Suddenly, he had an idea. He walked to the front desk.

"Can I help you Sir?" asked the young woman with a thick French accent.

"Yeah, I need a favor," he said with a smile. "I am going to pay for that dress right now," Harm motioned towards the dressing rooms, "And I need you to hold it for me until I can come back to pick it up. It needs to be that exact dress, and she can't know that I bought it. Can you help me?"

The woman smiled, her heart warming at the romantic gesture. "Absolutely sir. Leave it to me."

-

2134 Local Time Friday

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseille, France**

"I knew it!" Mac exclaimed as she shoved the door to their hotel room open and flung her purse onto the bed. "Didn't I tell you!?" Mac swiveled around and pointed a finger at Harm. "I told you this case was more complicated than a petty officer cutting up while on leave!" She flopped down onto the edge of the bed, ignoring the loud protest the springs made. "Now we are stuck here, and we have to deal with this mess." There was a brief moment of silence. "And God knows how long it will take to clear all of this up."

Harm sat next to her on the bed and rubbed his eyes. Bud had uncovered some intriguing information about Petty Officer Laael, including a previously overlooked history of dysfunction. When Harm and Mac began questioning the petty officer about his history, he became unresponsive, and earlier in the morning the brig guards were not able to locate him or a large sum of money. Now there was an unstable, potentially dangerous man running loose through the streets of Marseille with money that wasn't his. Harm and Mac had been told they had to put their investigation on hold and stay in France until the petty officer could be found.

"For all we know, the man could be half way across the world right now sipping margaritas in Hawaii while we are stuck in this hotel from hell with no hot water, no heater, and a bed that makes more noise than a jet engine!" Mac continued to fume. "And does he care about our deplorable situation!? Of course not! He probably-"

"Whoa, power down marine," Harm looked up and put a hand on her shoulder. He wasn't used to seeing her this upset about a case or uncomfortable situations. "Take some deep breaths Mac."

Mac glared at him before trying to do what he suggested. She inhaled deeply and held her breath.

"Now let it out," Harm told her.

Mac shakily exhaled, making her attempt to control her anger apparent. Harm observed her for a few minutes.

"Better?" he asked.

Mac glanced up at him before looking down again. "Yeah, sorry," she muttered.

"Now, what's really bothering you Mac?" Harm asked, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"I'm just _so_ ready to go home. I miss Josh," Mac replied with a small frown.

"I know," Harm pulled her into a hug. Mac let out a sigh.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Mac broke the silence some time later.

"I don't know," Harm said, his grip still tight on Mac. "I guess it depends on when and where they find the petty officer. If they don't find him soon, I'm sure they will send us home. I can't imagine they would have us waiting around for him forever." Harm attempted a chuckle.

Mac nodded. They sat in silence for a while longer until Mac pulled out of Harm's grip and hesitantly said, "Harm?"

Harm looked up at her, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" Harm furrowed his brow.

"For always being there for me," Mac said with a small smile.

"Aw, Mac," came Harm's soft reply.

Mac buried her face in Harm's chest. Harm wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on her head. Harm knew it was now or never. She had to know how he felt about her. He took a deep breath.

"You mean a lot to me Mac," Harm said. He wasn't satisfied with how the words came out of his mouth. They weren't serious enough. She meant more than a lot to him. She meant the world to him. She was his world. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just tell her how he felt? He could think it, so why couldn't he say it?

Mac looked him in the eyes with slight confusion, "You mean a lot to me too Harm."

"No, Mac, what I mean is-" He gave up trying to put his feelings into words and swiftly pulled her face to his and kissed her.

After the initial shock wore off Mac eagerly kissed him back. She reached up and held his head in her hands. Eventually, they had to stop to catch their breath.

"So that's what you meant." Mac panted. She smiled up at Harm's soft eyes.

"I'm sorry," Harm blushed, just realizing the gravity of what happened, "Was that, I mean… was that okay?"

Mac chuckled and pulled him into another kiss. "More than okay," she muttered against his lips. Before she realized what she was doing, she felt her fingers undoing the buttons of Harm's shirt.

"Mac," Harm stopped her as she was sliding his shirt off of his shoulders, "Are you sure? Because, I mean-."

"Is that reluctance I sense, Rabb?" Mac asked with a saucy smile

"What?" Harm was certainly not reluctant. "I just meant that it's okay if you want to wait."

She eyed him carefully before continuing to take his shirt off. She kissed him again. She knocked him backwards onto the bed and reached for his belt buckle. "We've been waiting Harm."

Harm smiled against Mac's lips and tightened his grip on her.

-

0756 Local Time

**Saturday**

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseilles, France**

Harm woke up when a ray of sunshine caught his eyes. He felt Mac's body draped over his chest. He ran a finger down the soft skin of Mac's back to make sure she was real. She was certainly real. What had happened was real. Harm smiled and closed his eyes again. He drifted back into a light sleep before the alarm interrupted the quiet morning.

"Mmmm, turn that damn thing off," Mac moaned, never opening her eyes.

Harm reached over and struggled to switch the alarm off without jostling Mac too much. After he stopped the annoying buzz, he settled himself back under Mac.

She nuzzled into his neck. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her back.

"We should probably get up," Mac said after a few minutes.

Harm groaned. "It's Saturday; we don't have to."

"No, we don't have too, but I'm getting hungry," Mac opened her eye and peered at his face with a smile.

"You and your food," Harm teased.

"Hey, I need all the energy I can get," Mac chuckled.

"Ah, yes, you do," Harm grinned and began tickling her stomach.

Mac giggled and squirmed over his chest. "Harm!" Mac gasped between her laughter, "St-stop! Harm!"

Harm stopped tickling her when she was fully on top of him with their foreheads resting against each other. Mac smiled and looked into his eyes. He kissed her nose. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Hmmm," Mac mused, "We could go back to that bistro. Their breakfast menu looked impressive."

"Did it?" Harm smiled and kissed her softly.

"It did," Mac said before placing kisses along his jaw line.

Harm flipped them both over and began to leave a trail of kisses down the side of her face starting from her ear.

"But, you know," Mac said in between Harm's kisses, "Breakfast ends at 1000, and at this rate, we won't make it in time," She closed her eyes and moaned as Harm kissed her throat. "Their brunch menu looked good too though," she said, giving in to Harm's charms.

He grinned and pulled the bed sheet over their heads. Mac's giggles filled the room.

-

To Be Continued… 


	17. Change of Perspective

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._A/N: Shorter chapter, I know, but it's all I had time for. More is coming soon!

_Edit: Sorry about the paragraph mid way through that is all mashed together. I guess the website formatted it funky. I tried to fix it with no luck. Hopefully, you'll be able to decipher who says what. If I'm not making sense, you'll understand when you get there. _

_-_

1356 Local Time

**Saturday**

**Streets of Marseille, France**

Harm and Mac were walking back to their hotel after a lengthy lunch and stroll around town. Mac giggled and tugged on Harm's arm as she teased him about the waitress that was flirting with him at the bistro.

"You should have seen your face!" Mac laughed at the deep shade of red Harm was turning.

"Well, what was I supposed to do Mac? I couldn't just-" Harm was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Commander Rabb," he said into the receiver after fishing the phone out of his pocket. "Oh, hey Harriet… No, everything is fine, why-… Oh, she did, did she?" Harm glanced down at Mac with a smug smile. Mac smacked her forehead as if she was just remembering something. "Well, no Harriet, she just forgot, I'm sure… you did?… Well, she must have left it in the hotel room… Would you like to speak to her?… Okay, hang on a second," Harm handed the phone to Mac. "It's Harriet," he said as he passed it to her.

"Hey, Harriet. I'm so sorry I forgot to call last night," Mac said with a small frown.

"_It's okay ma'am, we were just worried about you. We tried to call your cell phone, but you never answered,"_ Harriet's voice floated through the phone.

"Yeah, I left it in the room," Mac replied, "I'm sorry that I worried you Harriet. We just forgot to set the alarm last night before… we fell asleep," Mac stumbled over the last few words.

"_Fell asleep, ma'am?" _ Harriet questioned, the chuckle in her voice apparent.

"Harrrieeet," Mac drew out her friend's name like she had when this topic came up in their other conversations. Although she could no longer deny the fact that nothing happened. "Please tell Josh I'm sorry. I won't forget again," Mac tried to change the subject.

"_You can tell him yourself, ma'am, he is right here. He woke up early, and wants to talk to you,"_ Harriet said before giving the phone to Josh.

"_Momma!"_ Josh's excited greeting came loudly through the phone.

"Hi baby!" Mac smiled widely at the sound of Josh's voice. "I'm so, so sorry I forgot to call last night, hon. I was very tired, and I forgot to set the alarm. It won't happen again though."

"_That's okay, momma. Ensign Simms said that it was probably something like that. Lieutenant Roberts read me a story to help me fall asleep. It was about a mouse and a cookie. He read it five times. It was really funny. I'm gunna try to get him to read it again tonight," _Josh chattered happily.

Mac grinned, "That's great, baby. Have you been doing all your schoolwork?"

"_Yep. We had show and tell yesterday. Guess what I brought?"_

"Hmmm," Mac thought for a moment, "I don't know. What'd you bring?"

"_I brought the admiral!" _Josh exclaimed.

Mac choked on air. Harm gave her a curios glance. "You brought the… the admiral?"

"_Uh-huh," _ Josh giggled,"_The teacher wanted us to bring something that was special to us. So I brought him."_

"Josh, honey, you shouldn't have bothered him. He is a busy man," Mac made a mental note to apologize to her CO when they returned from France.

"_But, momma, he wanted to go,"_ Josh explained.

"He did?" Mac was honestly surprised.

"Yup."

"Huh," Mac didn't know what else to say, "How has therapy been going? Didn't you have a session yesterday?"

"Yeah. The doctor gave me a lollipop because I did good. It was raspberry flavored. Ensign Simms made me wait until after dinner to eat it, but that's okay because she cooks good. She made spaghetti. The sauce didn't even come out of a jar!"Mac chuckled. She and Harm were now nearing their hotel. They had been walking slowly as Mac chatted on the phone. "Well, Josh, it was wonderful to hear your voice. I'm afraid Commander Rabb and I have some work to do, so I need to go.""Oookay," Josh seemed slightly disappointed, but understanding. "Well, Ensign Simms is making me strawberry banana pancakes for breakfast. I think they are done anyway.""Mmmm, that sounds good. Eat one for me okay?""Okay mommy.""I miss you Josh. I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you," Mac frowned slightly. "I miss you too mommy. I love you!""Bye baby, I'll call you tonight, okay?""Okay. Bye momma," with that the line went dead. Mac flipped Harm's phone closed and handed it to him. She looked down at the concrete and began to walk towards the hotel door.

"Hey, wait up Mac," Harm jogged a few steps to catch up. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head back on his arm and looked up into his face. "I miss him so much."

"I know. We'll be home soon. And it seems like he is enjoying himself," Harm offered a small smile.

Mac gave a single chuckle, "Yeah. You know he brought the admiral to show and tell?"

Harm grinned. "How'd the admiral take that?"

"Apparently he wanted to go," Mac furrowed her brow.

"That man…" Harm stopped his statement and instead chuckled and shook his head to the side.

Mac smiled and turned in his arms to face him. "You know, I told Josh we had work to do…" she ran a finger along his chest. "It would be a shame to lie…"

Catching her drift, Harm leaned down and pulled her into a passionate kiss. After a few minutes they pulled apart and made their way to their room. Once inside, Mac kicked off her shoes and pushed Harm onto the bed. The springs made horrible popping sounds. "If we are here for much longer, we should really find a new hotel," Harm muttered.

"Come on Harm. You have to admit there is something exciting about a trashy hotel and a noisy bed." Mac chuckled.

"That's quite an about face from the marine I witnessed yesterday," Harm teased.

"Mmm, was that me?" Mac asked as she strategically placed kisses on his neck.

"Uh-huh," Harm moaned.

"Well, recent events have changed my perspective," Mac smiled.

"Recent events?" Harm raised his eyebrows. He decided to string her along, "Like what?"

"Well," Mac drew shapes on his chest with her finger, "There is a certain Navy commander that makes me happy."

Harm smiled, "This commander, does he love you?"

Mac squinted her eyes and cocked her head to the side, "You'd have to ask him."

"Can I tell you something?" Harm leaned closer to Mac's face and whispered in her ear, "He loves you very much."

Mac felt chills run down her spine. She pulled him closer, "I love you too Harm."

-

0458 Local Time

**Sunday**

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseilles, France**

Harm woke up when he heard his phone vibrating on the bedside table. He reached over Mac to answer it.

"Commander Rabb," he said groggily into the phone.

Mac woke up and rolled over to look at Harm.

Harm straightened his posture, "Good morning, sir," he replied with a more serious voice.

Mac sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"I see… Well, that's certainly good news, sir… I understand, sir… We'll be there shortly… Yes, sir." Harm flipped the phone closed and looked at Mac.

"Who was that?" Mac asked while turning on the lamp next to the bed.

"Captain Whitmore," Harm replied, "They found Petty Officer Laael."

Mac's face brightened, "Well that's great!"

Harm nodded, "They want us to meet them at the brig." He threw the covers off of him and climbed out of the bed. Mac did the same. Within minutes, both officers were dressed and ready to go. Harm held the door open for Mac who grabbed her cover off the dresser and walked into the hall. She waited for Harm as he locked the door to their room. They made their way out of the building and were able to quickly snag a taxi.

"I guess we don't have time for breakfast?" Mac looked at Harm hopefully once they were on the road.

Harm rolled his eyes, "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can wrap this up and go home." He grinned.

Mac shoved an elbow in his side.

"Hey!" Harm exclaimed, "You should be careful. Paybacks are rough."

"Ooh, I'm looking forward to it," Mac giggled.

Harm shook his head and chuckled. He took Mac's hand in his and looked out the taxi windows, watching Marseille pass by.

-

To Be Continued… 


	18. Celebrations, Anticipations

_As a reminder, I do not own any of the characters or locations in this story._

-

1545 Local Time

**Sunday**

**The Berlioz Hotel**

**Marseille, France**

"This deserves a celebration," Harm announced with a grin as he and Mac entered their hotel room. Since Petty Officer Laael was found, he admitted to his crimes, including stealing the money that was missing from the brig. He was detained and kept under a close watch until he would be transferred back to the States to await trial.

Mac smiled up at him as she kicked off her heels and neatly placed her cover on the dresser. "What kind of celebration?" She wiggled her eyebrows and chuckled.

Harm walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "How about La Ferme at 1900?" he whispered in her ear.

"La Ferme?" Mac seemed surprised, "Harm, that place is one of the nicest restaurants in Marseille; we'd never get in."

"Unless we happened to have reservations already," Harm suggested casually.

Mac swiftly spun around in his arms and looked up at his face. "You already made a reservation?" she questioned, in aw at his sweet gesture.

Harm nodded, giving Mac a soft look.

"I didn't bring any nice clothes," Mac frowned.

Harm grinned. His plan was working perfectly. He released his grip on her waist and pulled a white box out of one of the dresser drawers. He held it out to her.

Mac took it, eyeing him skeptically as she placed the box on the bed. She slowly lifted the lid and dug through the tissue paper. Her hands found something silky. She felt her eyes tearing as she lifted up a red dress in front of her. It was the same one she had tried on in the boutique a few days earlier. Harm smiled at her reaction. "Oh, Harm," Mac smiled and dabbed at her eyes. "You shouldn't have. It was so expensive."

Harm wrapped an arm around her waist. "It was worth it."

Mac turned her head to kiss him.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Harm said, breaking off the kiss. He walked back to the dresser and pulled out another box. "I was told you needed these too." He gave her a wink.

Mac opened the box to find a pair of matching red heels and a red clutch. She chuckled. "Thank you Harm. I appreciate it so much. It wasn't necessary, you know."

Harm shrugged and glanced at the ground. "Can you try the shoes on? I hope they fit," he tried to move to an easier subject.

Mac smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. She reached in the box and slipped the strappy red heel on her foot. "Perfect," she smiled up at him.

Harm grinned.

"Hey, how'd you know my size?" Mac asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm sneaky," Harm teased as he leaned down to kiss her. She grasped the back of his head and pulled him onto the bed with her. "We just have to make our reservation on time. They don't hold tables for very long," Harm said breathlessly.

"Oh they better," Mac snickered, "Or they are going to have one peeved marine to deal with."

-

1858 Local Time

**Sunday**

**La Ferme**

**Marseille, France**

Harm smiled as he and Mac walked arm-in-arm into the restaurant. "Reservation for Rabb," he said to the stately looking man behind the podium.

"This way monsieur," the man said with much seriousness. Harm and Mac followed him to their table. Upon seeing the awed looks of men they passed, Harm wrapped an arm around Mac's waist, making his presence known.

"Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?" Harm asked Mac once they were seated at their table.

"Not in the last 4 minutes and 21 seconds," Mac grinned.

"Well, you look amazing," Harm smiled back at her. "I can't wait to show you off in that dress at JAG parties."

Mac blushed and took a sip of her water. "About that. How are we going to, you know, break the news to everyone?" She wiggled a finger between Harm and herself.

"Haven't really thought about it," Harm answered, unconcerned.

"Well, I think Harriet might already have an inkling," Mac said.

"Oh? How'd that happen?" Harm grinned.

Mac shrugged, "You know Harriet. She gets an idea in her head and-"

Harm finished her sentence with a chuckle. He sobered slightly, "What about Josh?"

"What about him?" Mac asked, although fully aware of what Harm meant.

"How do you think he'll take it?" Harm asked gently.

"He adores you Harm. He's never had a dad, or even a father figure for that matter, I mean, besides his grandfather, but, it's different," Mac replied. Upon seeing Harm's relatively neutral reaction she continued hesitantly, "Unless, you don't want to be that man to him…"

Harm was taken off guard, "What?! No Mac! I love Josh! I just don't want to push him into anything that he doesn't want."

Mac smiled at Harm's reaction. She reached across the table and grabbed his hands. "I love you for that." Harm looked at her with soft eyes. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, you excited to go home?" Harm asked, knowing the answer but needing a new conversation topic to break the silence.

"Yes!" Mac exclaimed. "I'm so ready to go home, see my baby, sleep in my own bed, take a long, _hot_ bath." Mac smiled. She shook her head, "I don't know what it is. We haven't even been gone a week yet, but it feels like so much longer. Going out of town has never been this hard before."

"You've got a little boy waiting for you at home this time," Harm squeezed her hands. "Plus, out hotel sucks," he added with a chuckle.

Mac leaned across the table. She gave him a soft kiss. "What did I do before you?"

"I've been wondering that myself," Harm replied with a smile.

-

1733 Local Time

**Monday**

**Dulles International Airport**

Mac squirmed in her seat as the plane taxied to the airport. She glanced eagerly out the window and then grinned at Harm. "We need to taxi faster," She said impatiently and bounced up and down.

Harm smiled and put a hand on her leg in an attempt to stop her bouncing. "Be patient, Marine; we're almost there." She ignored his advice and continued to squirm. Five minutes and twenty-one seconds later, the plane came to a stop by the terminal and passengers started to get off. Harm and Mac grabbed their carry-on luggage and slowly filed down the aisle.

Mac struggled to keep the grin off of her face as she and Harm walked out of the gate. Immediately, she looked around for Josh. She spotted him amidst the crowds. He was accompanied by Harriet and Bud and held a poster-sized sign that said 'Welcome Home Mommy and Commander Rabb.' He saw Mac and began jumping up and down. Mac walked faster and Josh ran to her when she got closer. Mac dropped her carry-on bag and scooped him up into her arms. She hugged him tight and covered his cheeks in kisses.

"Hi baby! I missed you sooo much," Mac tightened her grip on him. Harriet, Bud, and Harm smiled at the sweet scene.

"I missed you too momma!" Josh beamed.

Mac buried her nose in his hair. "Mmm, I missed that smell," she muttered. She looked at Harriet and Bud's direction.

"How was your trip ma'am, sir?" Bud asked with a smile.

"Interesting," Harm chuckled and glanced at Mac. She rolled her eyes in response.

"We missed you both so much!" Harriet hugged Mac and kissed Harm's cheek.

"We missed you guys too," Mac said, "Thanks so much for taking care of Josh! I appreciate it more than you could possibly imagine."

"Aw, ma'am, he's a sweetheart," Harriet smiled at the little boy still clung to his mother's neck. "He was no trouble at all. You're really lucky to have him, ma'am."

Mac looked down at Josh and kissed his cheek. Mac knew she was lucky.

"We should go wait for out luggage," Harm said as he motioned towards the baggage claim area.

Mac nodded. "Harm, could you get my bag?" She asked, not wanting to let go off Josh.

"Sure," Harm smiled and swung Mac's carry-on bag over his shoulder.

The group made their way to the luggage carousel and waited for the bags to arrive.

"Ooh, that one is mine," Mac motioned to a green suitcase.

"I'll grab it," Bud said as he pulled it off the conveyor belt.

Harm saw his suitcase come around and swiftly snagged it. "I think that's all the luggage," He said.

"We're parked over there," Harriet indicated the far side of the airport. Mac adjusted Josh on her hip and followed Harriet and the others to the parking lot.

"I call shotgun," Harm announced with a grin as they neared the Roberts's mini-van. The two men loaded the suitcases into the back of the van as Harriet, Mac, and Josh climbed into the back seat.

"So, was Marseille nice ma'am?" Harriet asked to make conversation.

"Marseille, itself, was nice," Mac replied, "But the hotel was awful, as was the case we were investigating."

"I don't know," Harm interjected from the front seat, "I thought the trip was rather pleasant."

Mac gave a single laugh, "Ha! You would," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Harriet raised her eyebrows and glanced sideways at Mac, "Why is that ma'am?" she asked.

Mac turned beet red, "Uh, you know, it's… France. Harm likes France…"

Harriet squinted her eyes and noticed Harm's ears were also turning a lovely shade of red. Something was certainly going on between them.

"Momma, can we have pizza tonight?" Josh asked, oblivious to the unfolding conversation.

"He must have inherited your sense of timing, ma'am," Bud snickered as he glanced over his shoulder to negotiate traffic. Harm and Harriet chuckled. Mac didn't look as amused.

Josh furrowed his brow and looked up at his mother, "What are they talking about?"

"Nothing, baby, just ignore them," She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

Josh shrugged his confusion off "So can we?" he asked again.

"Can we what?" Mac looked down at him, slightly confused.

"Have pizza," Josh replied.

"We'll see," Mac smiled.

"We had pizza last night ma'am," Bud informed Mac.

"Are you trying to trick me?" Mac tickled Josh's stomach. Josh squirmed and laughed. His innocent laughter was infectious, and soon, everyone in the car was giggling.

Bud pulled the vehicle into a parking spot next to Harm's apartment building. "Need any help with your stuff, sir?" he asked.

"I'll help," Mac said. She wanted to opportunity to talk to him alone before they parted ways. She opened the door and slipped out. "Just stay in here a minute, Josh," she said when she noticed he intended to follow her. Harriet flashed Bud a curious glance as Mac and Harm unloaded his things from the back of the van. Bud shrugged.

Mac set Harm's bag down near his couch and looked at him. "The last few days of the trip were really nice," she admitted as she adjusted his collar.

"Yes they were," Harm kissed her gently on the lips.

"I've gotta go," Mac reluctantly broke off the kiss, "We'll talk more tomorrow?"

Harm nodded and pulled her into a hug.

"Mmm," Mac liked his strong embrace, "See you later." She looked up at him and gave him a quick kiss.

Harm smiled and watched her walk out the door. 'Later' couldn't come soon enough.

-

To Be Continued… 


	19. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/N: It was a lazy day today, so I had a lot of time to write. So… Another chapter for all of you! Yippee. Again, thanks for all the kind comments and reviews. If I didn't get the chance to respond personally, know that I appreciate the encouragement more than you could know! Anyway… enjoy!

_-_

0743 Local Time JAG Headquarters Falls Church, Virginia

Harm glanced idly around the elevator as he waited for it to come to a stop. He walked out as soon as the door opened and nearly bumped into Bud who had his nose buried in a file.

"Oh, hey, Bud," he said.

"Good morning, sir," the lieutenant replied.

"Is Mac in yet?" Harm asked.

Bud frowned, "I haven't seen her sir."

Just as he said that, the elevator doors opened with a ding, revealing Mac.

"Good morning, ma'am," Bud said upon seeing her.

"Morning Bud," Mac replied. She smiled when she saw Harm. "Hey."

"Hey," Harm smiled back. They walked together towards their offices. "How was your evening?"

"Great! Josh and I made Macaroni and Cheese, we read a story together, I tucked him into bed, soaked in the tub, and then I went to sleep under my warm, fluffy covers. How was _your _evening?" She looked up at him.

Harm shrugged, "I ordered take-out, took a quick shower, and fell asleep on my… couch." Harm furrowed his brow, just realizing how sad his evening was compared to Mac's.

Mac gave Harm a sympathetic smile and was about to say something before they were intercepted by Tiner.

"Welcome home, ma'am, sir," The petty officer greeted, "The admiral requested you both in his office as soon as you get a chance."

"Thank you Tiner," Harm smiled. Tiner nodded and returned to his desk.

Mac raised her eyebrows, "Hmm, 'As soon as you get a chance.' That's code for 'get your butts in here ASAP,' right?"

Harm chuckled, "Something like that. Let me put my cover up, and I'll walk with you."

Mac smiled and bobbed her head in acknowledgement.

-

"How was the trip?" the admiral asked after Harm and Mac had been seated in front of his desk.

"Fine, sir," Mac replied, shying away from the truthful answer.

Harm unconsciously grinned and chuckled.

"Something funny Commander?" the admiral asked with a furrowed brow. Mac glanced nervously at Harm.

Harm's face fell into a more serious expression, "No, sir."

The admiral squinted, "Good. I expect full reports on my desk by the end of the day."

"Yes, sir," Harm and Mac said simultaneously.

The admiral nodded, "Dismissed."

Harm and Mac stood up at attention, "Aye, aye sir," they said together. They bumped into each other as they turned to leave. Harm chuckled and put a hand in the small of Mac's back. She gave him a brief smile and they walked out together. The admiral cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow.

-

1214 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Harm tapped on the doorframe of Mac's office before walking in. She looked up from her desk.

"Want to grab some lunch?" he asked.

Mac glanced around her desk, studying her workload. "Uh, sure. I have time for a quick bite," She smiled, "Do you want to just go down to the cafeteria?"

Harm shrugged, "That sounds good."

Mac stood up and they walked together to the JAG cafeteria. After passing through the buffet line, they found a table and sat down.

Mac took a bite of her hamburger and chewed until she noticed Harm looking at her with a smile. She glanced around, "What?"

"Nothing," he still had the same smile.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Why not?"

Mac blushed and changed the subject, "Want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Does 1830 sound okay?" Mac asked.

"Sounds okay to me," Harm replied.

"Good," Mac said and took another bite of her burger.

"Hey, when are we going to tell people about... us?" Harm asked and poked at his salad with his fork.

Mac shrugged. "When it comes up?" she offered.

"You know, people are going to figure it out eventually," Harm said.

"Yeah, especially if you keep sneaking kisses from me in the kitchen," Mac teased, referring to an event earlier that day.

Harm pursed his lips, "I don't want to have to sneak around forever."

"As long as we both work in this office we are going to have to sneak, Harm," Mac looked him in the eyes. "That won't change, even if people know."

"I know," Harm looked away from her gaze and down at his plate. "But it isn't fair to sneak around Josh."

Mac seemed surprised and a bit offended at his comment, "Of course not Harm. That was never my intention."

"Then we should tell him," Harm said, looking up at Mac once again.

"It's our first day back! Can't we just take things one day at a time? Not everything has to be done today," Mac tried to keep her voice hushed. "Let's just see how tonight goes."

"Are you backing out of this, Mac?" Harm asked.

"What?" Mac was shocked, "Where'd that come from? Of course I'm not backing out! I just don't see why we need to tell everyone right away. Excuse me for wanting to enjoy the ride."

Harm hung his head. How this conversation had suddenly turned so sour was a mystery to him. He ran a hand through his hair, "That's not what I meant, Mac."

Mac chewed her lip and looked around the cafeteria. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Harm," Mac reached across the table to grab his hand when she noticed a Petty Officer walk by, and snapped her hand back. "We are going to have a relationship. We are going to tell Josh. We are going to tell the admiral, and Harriet, and Bud, and everyone else. I _promise_," Mac assured him, "But today, I just want to catch up on my cases and have dinner with you and Josh," she paused, "Okay?" She asked after he hadn't said anything.

Harm nodded, "Okay," he smiled, "I'm sorry."

"That's alright," she stood up with her tray and fought the urge to give him a hug or kiss, "I'll see you tonight."

"1830," he said with a smile. Mac smiled back before walking away.

-

1819 Local Time

**Mac's Apartment**

**Georgetown**

"Hey, you're early," Mac said when she opened the door to Harm.

He grinned, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," she stretched up for a kiss. They let their lips linger for a moment before walking into the living room. "Josh!" Mac called across the house, "Harm's here!"

Josh flew down the hall, his small feet making a soft sound against the carpet. "Hello, Commander," he smiled brightly up at Harm.

"Hi Josh. How are you?" Harm grinned down at the little boy.

"Good. Momma and I are making dinner," the boy smiled proudly.

Harm sniffed the air, "I know, I smell it. It smells wonderful."

"Josh, why don't you go get ready for dinner," Mac addressed her son.

They watched him run eagerly down the hall to the bathroom. Mac smiled and walked into the kitchen to check on the food. She pulled a tray of seasoned fish out of the oven and set it on the counter. Harm observed her from the doorway. He walked up behind her when she began tossing a salad. He slipped his arms around her waist and propped his head on her shoulder.

Mac jumped, "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Harm kissed her neck, "You're just so beautiful when you cook."

"Mmm," Mac leaned into his kisses. She turned around and gave him a quick kiss before carrying the salad bowl to the table. Josh bounded into the room. Mac looked down at him, "Show me your hands."

Josh smiled and held up his hands.

Mac studied them, looking for traces of dirt. "Okay, you pass. Why don't you help Harm set the table?"

Josh nodded eagerly.

Harm opened and closed the cabinets, looking for plates.

"Cabinet above the dishwasher, Harm," Mac looked up from the table.

Harm opened the indicated cabinet, "Ah, here they are."

Mac chuckled.

"Hey, I am still trying to learn my way around this new apartment," Harm defended himself as he held a plate out to Josh. Josh took it and placed it carefully on the table before heading back to Harm for another.

"The table's ready momma!" Josh ran to Mac and smiled proudly after three places had been set.

"Thank you baby," Mac ruffled the boy's hair. Josh sat in one of the chairs as Mac transferred the fish onto a plate and carried it to the table. Harm helped by bringing a pitcher of water.

"So, what'd you do at school today?" Harm asked Josh after they were all seated and served.

"A bunch of stuff. We did a lot of spelling today. We're having a spelling bee next month. I'm gunna be in it. Will you be there to watch?" Josh looked at Harm hopefully.

Harm glanced at Mac who raised her eyebrows. "I'll try my hardest Josh. Just tell me when and where."

Josh's face brightened. "I have a flyer. I can get it for you." He swung his legs to the side of the chair and jumped up.

"Josh, you can wait until after dinner to get it," Mac said. She smiled at Harm as Josh took his seat again.

After dinner, Harm helped Mac clean the kitchen while Josh took a bath.

"Thanks for agreeing to go to his spelling bee," Mac said as she handed Harm a plate to load in the dishwasher. "I know your presence would mean a lot to him... and to me"

"I wouldn't miss it," Harm smiled as he found a spot for the plate. "Besides, I've never been to a spelling bee. It'll be interesting to watch."

Mac chuckled and handed him another plate. "That's the last of the dishes."

"Cool," Harm said as he closed the dishwasher and set the knobs to their correct position.

Mac yawned and put her arms around Harm's neck. She gazed into his eyes. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

Harm smiled, "Have I told you there's no one else above you."

"Fill my heart with gladness," Mac continued.

"Take away _all_ my sadness," Harm put his forehead against hers.

"Ease my troubles that's," Mac kissed him gently, "what," she kissed him again, "you," she kissed him once more, "do," Mac whispered the last word and gave him another gentle kiss.

"That's a good song," Harm murmured.

"M-hm," she agreed and put her head on his chest.

"Mommmmaaa!" Josh called from across the house. "I can't find my train pajamas!"

Harm chuckled and kissed the top of Mac's head. "You better go, momma," Harm teased.

"I'll be right back," Mac kissed him quickly and turned to find Josh's pajamas.

Harm smiled as he listened to the soft banter between Mac and Josh.

"They're right here Josh," he heard Mac say.

"I diden see 'um," Josh said sleepily.

"Well maybe if you looked a bit harder," Mac teased. Harm could tell Mac was smiling from the sound of her voice.

Harm walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Besides the noise Josh was making in the bathroom by brushing his teeth, the apartment was silent. A few minutes later, Josh entered the living room closely followed by Mac.

"G'night Commander," Josh said walking to the couch.

"Well, goodnight Mr. Phillips," Harm grinned and opened his arms, "Come give me a hug."

Josh smiled and walked into Harm's arms. Harm hugged the little boy. "Sleep well," Harm said.

Josh nodded and walked to Mac who had her hand held out to him. He grabbed her hand and let her lead him to his room. He clambered into his bed. Mac crouched down and pulled his airplane themed comforter over him. She turned on his nightlight and switched off the main light. She walked back to his bed. She kissed his forehead. "I love you baby."

"Love you too mommy," Josh smiled up at her.

"Goodnight," Mac said lovingly, "Wake me up if you need anything."

Josh nodded, "Night," he muttered before he yawned and closed his eyes.

Mac smiled and kissed his head again. She walked slowly out of his room and gently closed his door. Harm was still on the couch when she returned to the living room. He grinned when he saw her. She climbed onto his lap.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked playfully once she was situated facing him.

"You," Harm answered, "You're so good with Josh." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "So… motherly," He said, squinting his eyes.

"Well, I am a mother," Mac replied.

Harm nodded, "I know."

Mac cocked her head to the side, "You're still trying to grasp that concept aren't you?"

Harm shrugged in response.

"I guess I've had six years to get used to the idea," Mac said, "I suppose it's harder for you, or, anyone else for that matter, to accept."

Harm shrugged again, "I'm getting adjusted to it."

Mac gave him a small smile and leaned her head against his. She kissed the tip of his nose. Harm slipped his hands under the back of her shirt to pull her further onto his lap. He kissed her and ran his hand slowly up and down her back. She groaned in response. Harm attempted to reposition both of them so that they would be lying on the couch, but instead they both fell onto the floor with a thud.

Mac giggled and Harm quickly lifted his weight off of Mac so he wouldn't squish her. Mac grabbed his collar and pulled his face back down to hers so that she could kiss him. Soon, things were getting too heated for the living room floor with Josh in the house.

"Mac-" Harm started to say as he sat up straighter.

"I know," Mac sat up also.

Harm leaned his back against the couch and chuckled. "I should go home while I still have the willpower."

Mac nodded and rose to her feet. She offered him a hand and pulled him up. She buttoned the top buttons of his shirt, which had mysteriously come unbuttoned during the evening. He smiled and grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door.

"I had a great time this evening, Mac," He said.

"I did too," Mac agreed.

Harm reached for the doorknob and Mac made a pouting face. He kissed her. "Hey, turn that frown upside down," he teased, "I'll see you tomorrow." He picked her chin up with one of his fingers.

Mac smiled and nodded as he opened the door. He kissed her once more before walking away. Mac watched him walk down the hall before closing the door and locking it. She walked to her bathroom to take a bath. She hoped the hot water would help calm her down enough to go to sleep.

-

To Be Continued… 


	20. Oblivious

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/N: Got another chapter finished! Thanks for al the comments, they encourage me to keep writing! Also, I made an image to go with the story, and the link to it can be found through my profile page. Take a look if you are interested! Anyway, enjoy and don't be afraid to review!

_-_

1136 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Mac was in the kitchen making a cup of tea when she saw Harm walk in. She threw a glance at him as he entered.

"Hey," she said, looking back down to stir the tea.

Harm glanced around the small room and then leaned to look down the hall. He smiled, walked towards her, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're going to get us in trouble, you know that?" Mac took a sip of her tea.

Harm shrugged, "The coast was clear."

Mac rolled her eyes and set her mug back on the counter, "Well, one day, the coast won't be clear." Mac grabbed the honey from the counter and squeezed some into her drink.

Harm grinned and snuck up behind her. He grabbed her waist, causing her to jump and kick the lower cabinets out of surprise.

"Harm!" Mac swiveled around to look him in the eye. The glare she shot him caused him to back up a few inches.

The admiral, having heard the commotion, walked in slowly with one eyebrow cocked. "What's going on in here?"

Mac and Harm both snapped to attention. "Nothing sir. We were just looking for the honey," Mac held up the bear-shaped container of honey, "Found it." She gave a half smile.

The admiral folded his arms across his chest and rocked back onto his heels. He stared at them for a moment before shaking his head and leaving.

Mac and Harm both relaxed as soon as he was out of the room. Mac glared up at Harm, "That was _way _too close, Harm. As it is, he probably already figured it out."

"Well, he's going to have to find out eventually," Harm replied.

"Yeah, but not like this!" Mac said in a whispered exclamation.

"So, what do you want to do?" Harm asked and leaned against the counter.

Mac shrugged, "Well, we should probably tell him officially before something like this happens again. Of course," Mac continued, "None of this would be a problem if you could keep your hands to yourself," she smirked.

Harm gave a small, smug smile. "It's not my fault you're so irresistible."

Mac rolled her eyes and ignored his comment, "So what do we tell him?" she asked, "Do we walk into his office and say, 'Sir, just wanted to let you know that – surprise! - we're sleeping together!' " Mac smiled widely in a display of mock excitement. "Because, honestly, Harm, I don't know how well that wou-"

She was interrupted by a wide-eyed Harriet entering the room. It was obvious by her face that she heard the entire conversation.

"Uh-oh," Harm muttered under his breath.

Harriet's shocked expression turned into a wide smile. "I knew it!"

"Harrrieeet," Mac tried to stop the train wreck she could see coming.

Harriet ignored her, "It was Marseille wasn't it ma'am?" She giggled, "That's soo romantic"

Harm pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, deciding it was best to let Mac handle the situation.

"You have to promise me that none of this leaves the room, understood Ensign?" Mac said firmly, hoping that the use of her military rank would break through the romantic fog that surrounded Harriet.

"Understood ma'am," Harriet replied. "But, oh! Ma'am, this is so exciting!" she grinned and clasped her hands together in front of her mouth.

Mac let herself show a half-smile.

Harriet was still gushing with excitement, "Can _we_ at least talk about it ma'am? How about over lunch?" Harriet asked hopefully.

Mac glanced at Harm who gave her the 'don't-look-at-me' look. Mac thought about it and decided that she really was dying to talk to someone about the recent developments with Harm. She smiled back down at Harriet, "Sure, Harriet, we can have lunch. I'm getting kind of hungry."

Harriet smiled widely, "You know ma'am the weather is lovely, we could go outside in the courtyard."

"That sounds great," Mac replied.

-

1207 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters Courtyard**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Mac and Harriet sat down at one of the metal tables outside with their lunch. Mac unfolded her napkin and popped the lid off of her salad. She stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork.

"So when did it start, ma'am?" Harriet asked, eager to get all the details out of Mac.

Mac smiled, amused by the Ensign's excitement. "The night I forgot to call Josh," Mac admitted with a blush.

Harriet smiled, "I _knew _it." She took a bite of the ham sandwich she was holding. "So, how'd it happen?" Harriet asked before deciding to clarify her question, "Like, did you two discuss it first, or did it just _happen_?"

"Umm, a little bit of both I guess," Mac mused, becoming a bit self-conscious. "I think we just realized that there was something between us and we decided to lay all the cards on the table. We both took a chance I guess… and it paid off." Mac smiled.

"That's sooo sweet," Harriet swooned. "So what now, ma'am?"

"One day at a time, Harriet," Mac said, "Right now the main concern is breaking the news to the admiral."

Harriet bobbed her head as she chewed a bite of food. "I don't think you should worry that much, ma'am. I'm pretty sure he is a big softie inside," Harriet said before taking a sip of water, "Besides, it's not like no one saw this coming."

Mac raised her eyebrows at Harriet's comment.

Harriet's eyes grew big with realization of what she just said, "Sorry ma'am, that just kind of slipped out."

Mac chuckled and looked down at her salad, "That's okay Harriet. I guess Harm and I were the only ones who really had no idea how we felt."

Harriet studied her sandwich as she chewed another bite. "What about Josh, ma'am? What does he think of the whole situation?"

"Well," Mac cocked her head to the side, "He doesn't exactly know yet." Upon seeing Harriet's curious look Mac continued, "I mean, Harm came over last night for dinner, and Josh chatted up a storm. He really likes Harm. I just haven't really told him the depth of things. He's only six, and I don't know how much he'd really understand. I don't want to confuse him, you know?"

"I understand ma'am," Harriet said, "How does the Commander feel about it?"

"Harm loves Josh very much, and I think he is scared that Josh will see him like Harm saw his stepfather. He doesn't want Josh to feel like we are replacing his real father," Mac paused and looked down at her salad. "But, I think the situation is totally different. Harm knew his father before he went missing, and then to know that he might not be dead… I can see why Harm felt the way he did. With Josh, though, I think it's less complicated. Michael died before Josh was even born, so Josh never really had a dad." Mac looked down at her salad and poked a piece of grilled chicken with her fork.

Harriet pursed her lips and looked at the table. "I'm sorry if this is getting too personal, ma'am," Harriet apologized.

"Aw, Harriet, it's fine," Mac smiled, "There's just a lot to think about. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

Harriet smiled warmly before raising her eyebrows and asking, "So what about future plans, ma'am?"

Mac widened her eyes and smiled in a half-amused way, "Harriet! We only got together last week!"

Harriet sighed, "But, ma'am, you know each other _so _well, and-"

"_and, _I don't want to jinx us," Mac finished Harriet's sentence before chuckling. Harriet smiled and began laughing too.

-

Harm walked into the courtyard to find the two women giggling about something. He strode coolly over to them. He grabbed a metal chair on his way and swung it into place next to Mac. Harriet and Mac looked up to him as he sat down with a smug smile.

"Sorry Commander, this table is for girls only," Mac teased, "Boys aren't allowed."

Harm smiled at her and didn't say anything.

Harriet watched the two officers with amusement. "Well, I should be getting back to work," she said, intending to give them some privacy.

"Don't let me scare you off, Harriet," Harm raised a hand to motion the Ensign to stay.

"Yeah, I am sure there is a perfectly good reason for this intrusion," Mac eyed Harm, "Right Commander?"

Harm lifted his chin and looked at Mac over his nose, "The admiral wants to see us in his office in ten minutes to brief us on a new case."

"Oh, so I guess there was a good reason," Mac said, slightly surprised. She began to pick up the trash from her lunch.

Harm was still smiling as he said, "Yes, despite what you think, I don't just interrupt conversations willy-nilly."

All three officers chuckled as they stood up and made their way back into the building.

-

1304 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

"So do you two think you can handle it?" The admiral, having just finished briefing Mac and Harm on their new case, asked.

Harm glanced quickly at Mac before answering, "Yes, sir. It seems pretty straightforward."

"Good," The admiral replied with a nod.

"Anything else, sir?" Mac asked after an awkward moment of silence.

The admiral looked up at his two senior officers, "Yeah," he said firmly making Harm and Mac both raise their eyebrows. "Don't make me send a chaperone with you."

Mac gulped loudly, "Sir-"

"Major," The admiral stopped her, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Mac swallowed the other things she was thinking.

"Good. Dismissed," The admiral looked back down at his paperwork.

"Aye, aye, sir," Harm and Mac replied before swiveling around on their heels and exiting his office.

The admiral watched them as they left with an amused smile. "Well, they sure didn't deny it, did they?" he asked himself.

-

"Well, I think it's safe to say he's on to us," Mac said to Harm as they walked back to their offices.

"It could've been worse," Harm said with a half shrug.

Mac rolled her eyes.

"Now we can move on," Harm smiled.

"We still can't flaunt it though, Harm," Mac reminded him.

"We don't have to deny it either though," Harm pointed out.

"No, I guess we don't," Mac said as they neared her office.

"So, are we going to tell the others?" Harm motioned around the bull pen.

"Nah, they'll figure it out soon enough," Mac said rather loudly as she closed the door to her office and sat down behind her desk.

Harm raised his eyebrows as he, too, went into his office to get some work done.

-

1734 Local Time

**Mac's Apartment**

**Georgetown**

Mac walked through the living room picking various items off of the floor and furniture. She shook her head and chuckled when she found a pair of Josh's socks under a pillow on the couch. She grabbed an empty coffee mug from the side table and brought it into the kitchen. As she placed it in the sink she looked at Josh who was quietly working on something at the table. She studied him for a moment before walking up to him.

"Hey, Josh, whatcha working on?" She ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to him.

"Homework," Josh held up a piece of paper, "We have a math worksheet."

"Ah," Mac bobbed her head, "Need any help?"

Josh shook his head, "No. Almost done."

"That's good," Mac smiled and looked down at her fingernails, trying to decide how to continue. "Josh?"

The boy raised his head and looked at his mother.

"You like Commander Rabb, don't you?" Mac asked.

Josh nodded eagerly, "Yep! He's lotsa fun!"

Mac smiled at Josh's sweet answer. "So, you wouldn't mind if he is around more often?"

Josh furrowed his brow, "Nope."

"And you would be okay with him spending more time with mommy?"

"Yeah," Josh nodded, "I like him lots."

Mac let out a sigh of relief, "Good, I'm glad."

Josh turned his attention back to his worksheet. Mac kissed his forehead and walked back to the kitchen just as there was a knock on the door. She walked over and opened it.

"Hey," She said when she found Harm on the other side, "We didn't have a date did we?"

"No, did I need one?" Harm teased.

Mac shook her head and smiled. "You're always welcome," she said as she leaned up to kiss him.

He pulled back when he saw Josh looking at them from the table.

Mac saw where Harm was looking, "It's okay, I talked to him."

"And he's okay with it?" Harm asked.

"Yeah, he's fine," Mac replied.

Harm nodded as he walked into the living room, "Good. That's good."

Mac squinted her eyes and smiled up at him, "You weren't worried, were you?"

Harm crinkled his forehead, "Well, Mac, I mean, I didn't know how he would react, and I-"

Mac chuckled and put a finger on his lips, "Shh, stop. Look at him." They both turned their heads to look at the little boy at the table. He was still intently concentrating on his worksheet. "Doesn't he look okay to you?"

"Well, besides from the fact that he is a little boy who is happily doing homework, then, yeah, he looks fine," Harm said with a grin.

Mac laughed as she walked into the living room to idly pick up some of Josh's toys. "That sweet, angelic nature didn't come from me, that's for sure."

Harm wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered into her neck, "I don't know, I think you're pretty sweet."

Mac shivered at the chill that went down her spine. She spun in his arms and kissed his cheek before organizing some papers on the coffee table.

Josh walked into the living room, his eyes still glued to his homework. He looked up when he got closer to Harm. "Hi, Commander," Josh smiled widely.

"Hey, Josh, how are you?" Harm asked as he ruffled the boy's hair.

"Great," the little boy answered with enthusiasm. "Hey momma?" Josh caught Mac's attention.

"Yeah, hon?" Mac answered as she leaned across the coffee table to grab some stray crayons.

"What's for dinner," Josh asked.

Harm and Mac both chuckled at the boy's innocent question, "I don't know," Mac said and looked up at Harm, "Does the Commander have a preference?"

"We could go to that new burger place down the road," He suggested.

"You don't eat burgers, Harm," Mac pointed out.

"Their salads are good too," Harm replied.

"Would that be okay with you, Josh?" Mac asked the boy.

Josh nodded, "Yep!"

"Good, go slip your shoes on," Mac said. The little boy took off down the hall towards his room. Harm smiled as he watched the boy's eagerness. Mac dropped some small, assorted items into a basket on the side table. She wiped her hands on her jeans. "Let me get my shoes, and then we'll go," she said. She kissed Harm and went to her bedroom.

Harm sat down on the couch with a pleased smile. He ruffled his hair as he thought about Mac and her beautiful little boy. That's when he decided that he was surely the luckiest man in the world.

-

To be continued… 


	21. The Angel He Left Her

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was supposed to be posted a few days ago, but I got on this writing spree late one night, and the chapter ended very differently than it started. It was a whole lot more "serious" than I intended for this chapter, but I was just too involved with the story to really be objective. So, I had to take a few days from writing to clear my head and set the chapter straight again. I took a bunch of stuff off of the end, but I saved it for future use, because I do want it in the story, just not yet. Now, this chapter still ends a little more seriously than it starts, but I'm pretty sure it works. We'll see. Enjoy!

-

1446 Local Time

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Mac tapped on Harm's door before entering. He looked up when he heard her.

"Hey," He said with a smile.

"Hey," She replied as she closed the door and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Do you have any plans this weekend."

"None that don't involve you," Harm said.

Mac got a dark smile, "Good."

Harm chuckled, "Why?"

"Weeeell," Mac said, rather seductively, "Josh is going to a sleepover tomorrow night."

"I like where this is going," Harm grinned.

"Soo," Mac continued, "I figured you could come over-"

"Mmm, a sleepover of our own…" Harm mused.

Mac rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored his comment, "And we could pick Josh up together Saturday morning."

"Not _too_ early, though, right?" Harm teased.

"Stop interrupting me!" Mac exclaimed good-naturedly.

"Yes ma'am; I'm sorry," Harm fought back a smile.

Mac paused before continuing, "Then, we could spend the rest of the weekend together. Maybe go to the Smithsonian; check out that new exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. What do you think?"

"So I can I talk now?" Harm asked.

Mac blinked slowly. She could tell Harm was in one of his "playful" moods, "Yes, _Harmon_, you may."

Harm smiled, "I think that sounds _great_. Just one problem."

Mac frowned, "What?"

"I have to wait until tomorrow," Harm sighed.

"Well, I didn't say you couldn't come over tonight for dinner," Mac pointed out with a chuckle. Then, she crumpled her forehead as a thought hit her, "Wait, no, actually, you can't. Josh has a therapy session at Bethesda tonight."

"So, what am I supposed to do all alone?" Harm quivered his bottom lip.

"Well, you can come to his appointment if you want," Mac said, "But you'll be bored."

"I'd rather be bored with you than bored alone," Harm replied.

Mac cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Okay, then, meet us at my apartment at 1730, we'll drive there together."

"Sounds good," Harm replied with a nod.

Mac stood up and walked towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Harm didn't want her to leave.

"I've got work to do, sailor," Mac replied with a half smile, "Especially if I'm going to take the weekend off."

Harm sighed, "Ooookay, if you have to."

Mac smiled as she returned to her office.

-

1827 Local Time

**Bethesda Naval Hospital**

**Bethesda, Maryland**

Harm and Mac were in the waiting room while Josh was in his therapy session. In their boredom, they had started an enthusiastic thumb-wrestling game.

"One, two, three, four, fi-" Harm started to ramble off as he had Mac's thumb trapped under his.

Mac managed to wiggle her thumb free. "HA!" she exclaimed.

"That's okay, I'll get you again," Harm assured her.

Mac bit her lip in concentration and managed to catch Harm's thumb. She quickly counted to ten, "You lose!" she giggled. "How does it feel to get beaten by a girl?"

"Well, in all fairness, Major, you aren't a girl, you're a Marine," Admiral Chegwidden's booming voice filled the room.

Harm and Mac both snapped their heads up and started to rise to their feet. The admiral held his hand out and shook his head, "No, no, as you were."

They glanced at each other before sitting back down on the edge of their chairs.

"Sir, we didn't expect to see you here," Mac said, "Is everything okay?"

The admiral nodded and sat in the chair next to Mac, "Yeah, I was just visiting an old friend. He isn't doing too well."

"I'm sorry, sir. Is there anything we can do?" Harm asked, leaning forward so he could see the admiral around Mac.

The admiral shook his head, "No," he looked at Mac, "What are you two doing here?"

"Josh has a therapy session," Mac answered motioning towards a door across the hall.

"I was just… tagging along… sir," Harm added awkwardly.

The admiral bobbed his head, obviously not surprised at Harm's presence. Harm and Mac both relaxed in their chairs. The room was cloaked in silence for a few moments until the door that Mac had previously indicated swung open to reveal Josh, closely followed by his therapist. All three waiting adults straightened their posture and Mac leaned forward as Josh walked up to her. She opened her arms and the little boy walked into them.

"Good evening, Major, how are you?" the therapist asked and sat down in a chair across from her.

"I'm doing fine, sir," Mac answered, wrapping an arm around Josh's shoulders.

"Great," the therapist replied and flipped through some papers he was holding, "Well, Josh is progressing wonderfully, so I don't need to see him for another week, and depending on how that visit goes, we'll slowly decrease his sessions."

Mac smiled and hugged Josh closer to her, "Yay, that's great."

The therapist nodded, "Now, I want Josh to use his arm just as he normally would. But, as I was telling him, I don't want him to overdue it either. So if something starts to get too uncomfortable, just ease off a bit, okay Josh?"

Josh nodded.

The man smiled, "Now, on to the important stuff. What flavor lollipop do you want today?" He dug in the pockets of his lab coat and held up three different flavors, "I have lemon, cherry, or blue raspberry."

Mac, Harm, and the admiral all smiled as Josh tried to decide. "Umm, cherry, " Josh answered after some contemplation.

His therapist handed the red lollipop to the little boy, who promptly thanked him, and stood up. Mac and the others stood up also. "Thank you sir, we'll see you next week, then," Mac said to the therapist.

"Yes, ma'am, next week. Take care," the man nodded and left.

"Momma," Josh looked up at Mac, "Can I have my sucker now?"

The admiral chuckled and Mac smiled, "Why don't you wait until after dinner?"

Josh nodded. Mac could tell he was tired from his therapy so she swung him up into her arms and placed him on her hip. "Do you want to come to dinner with us, sir?" Mac asked the admiral.

The admiral was about to turn down the offer when Josh looked at him and said, "Please admiral?"

The man sighed, "Okay, if you insist. Maybe it'll help clear my head."

Josh grinned widely, making Harm and Mac both smile. The group made their way down the hall towards the parking garage.

-

1943 Local Time

**Italian Pizza Kitchen**

**Washington, D.C.**

The group had been finished with dinner for a while and were simply chatting about various things when the admiral spoke up, "Well, sorry to break up the party, but I really must be getting home."

Mac nodded in agreement and looked at Josh, who was asleep in the corner of the booth. "Yeah, I need to get him into bed."

Harm and the admiral both smiled at the little boy and slipped out of the booth. Mac looped her purse over one shoulder and leaned to pick up Josh.

"I'll get him, Mac," Harm said, nudging her out of the way.

Mac got out of the booth and stepped to the side. Harm leaned in and slipped his hands under Josh. He hoisted the little boy to his chest. Josh woke up only long enough to see what was going on and to grab Harm's shirt. He rested his head on Harm's shoulder and closed his eyes again. They walked outside to where their cars were parked. It was a pleasant night with a light breeze that ruffled Josh's hair. The weather was starting to warm up, and Harm was glad that he'd soon be able to shake off his dress blues and switch to the summer whites.

"Thanks for the dinner, people," The admiral said as he located his car keys in his pocket, "I'll see you both tomorrow. Drive safe."

"You too, sir," Harm replied. The admiral climbed into his vehicle and drove off. Mac unlocked her Jeep and opened the back door so Harm could strap Josh in. Mac hopped into the driver's seat and waited for Harm to climb in. As he clambered into the vehicle, Mac shot a glance into the rearview mirror and smiled upon seeing Josh asleep with his head against the window.

"Well, that was a nice evening," Mac said once they were on the road.

"Yeah," Harm agreed, "The admiral really must be lonely for him to join us for dinner like that."

Mac shrugged, "I guess it can get hard for him. He's a man with no significant other, no life outside of JAG, no… nothing," Mac frowned.

"We'll have to invite him out more often," Harm mused. Harm picked up a law book from the floorboard of Mac's Jeep.

"Think he'd come?" Mac asked, glancing over to see what Harm was doing.

"If Josh asked, he would probably do just about anything," He said half-mindedly as he flipped through the book.

Mac chuckled, "Why do you say that?"

"Aw, come on Mac, it's obvious the admiral has taken a liking to Josh," Harm replied, looking up from the book.

Mac didn't reply.

"I think Josh has pretty much captured everyone," Harm looked back down to the dusty book in his lap. "He's a special little boy." He looked at Mac after she hadn't said anything for a few moments. "Hey," He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"It's just sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve him," Mac choked out, "I've seen some of his classmates. Quite a few of them are badly behaved or bratty. Josh… he's so different from them. I mean, babies are born everyday. What did I do to deserve _him_?"

Harm frowned. Mac brought that up a lot. Frankly, he was tired of hearing it. She could never seem to grasp the concept that she was worth something. "Mac," Harm said, "We've talked about this. You need to get over this feeling of… unworthiness, or whatever you want to call it. It's not healthy. A special boy needs a special mother. You deserve him. Plain and simple."

Mac bit her lip, but otherwise didn't reply.

They drove in silence for a while before Harm spoke up, "Michael must have been one helluva good man."

Harm's wording made Mac chuckle, "Why do you say that?"

"Just look at the angel he left you in the backseat," Harm said gently.

"Yeah," was Mac's soft, simple reply.

Harm looked at Mac as she drove. He wanted to know what she was feeling, what she was thinking. He wanted to fully understand Sarah Mackenzie; to know what was underneath her hardened Marine shell. It was times like these when she momentarily dropped the veil that he caught a glimpse of the "deeper" Mac. It was the Mac he didn't know, but desperately wanted to. He reached over and gently grabbed her right hand off of the steering wheel. He squeezed her hand and brought it up to his lips so he could kiss her fingers. He wanted her to know that he was there, no matter what. "I love you Sarah."

Mac squeezed his hand back, "I love you too, Harm."

-

To be Continued… 


	22. God Blessed Casserole Dishes

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

A/N: I know this is a shorter chapter, well, maybe not, but I am going away on vacation for a week, and wanted to leave you all with something until I get back. I actually have more written, but it needs some major editing and stuff before I post it. The good news, though, is that when I get back, there will be almost a whole chapter already written! Yay. Okay, so, anyway, enjoy, and I'll update when I get home. Until then, Cheers!

_-_

1847 Local Time

**Friday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Upon hearing a knock, Mac quickly made her way to the door and opened it. She smiled widely at seeing Harm. "Hey!" she exclaimed before pulling his head down for a kiss. The kiss was more passionate and prolonged than some of their other kisses of the past few days were.

"Well, hello," Harm said, flashing his best flyboy smile. He was thoroughly amused at Mac's eager greeting.

Mac grabbed the duffel bag Harm was holding. "You don't have to knock, you know. You have a key," she said as she brought his bag into her bedroom.

"I know," Harm called to her from where he was standing in the living room. "It just seems odd to-" he stopped mid sentence, "Hey, are you cooking?"

Mac walked back into the living room, "Yeah, it's almost done."

Harm raised his eyebrows, "It smells really good."

"Well, don't act so surprised, Harm. I can cook," Mac said playfully as she walked past him and went into the kitchen.

He followed behind her and watched her pull a tasty looking dish out of the oven. "So you dropped Josh off?"

Mac smiled, "No, he caught a ride with a friend. I feel sorry for the poor woman that organized the whole sleepover. _Seven_ little boys. Can you believe it? _Seven,_" Mac said in disbelief. "Sometimes I have trouble keeping up with one."

"Well," Harm went up behind her and started to kiss her neck, "It gives you a break," He muttered.

Mac craned her neck to the side and smiled, "Yeaaah, that it does," she moaned. She tried to continue preparing dinner around Harm's kisses. "Haaarm, the food is going to get cold," she chuckled and spun around to face him.

"So?" He began to kiss her jaw line and backed her against the counter, "We can reheat it."

"But," Mac tried to steady her breathing and gain control of the situation, "It'll taste better fresh." Harm ignored her and slipped his hands under the back of her shirt. Mac closed her eyes and knew that they had to stop soon, or they would never eat dinner. "Think about all the hard work I went through to make such a nice dinner," she hoped that making him feel guilty would get his attention.

He sighed and leaned his head against hers. Mac looked directly into his eyes and smiled. Harm blinked a few times but didn't say anything.

"I'm hungry, Harm," Mac said and stuck out her lower lip in mock sadness.

Harm kissed her puckered lip. "Okay," he gave in, "I guess we can eat first."

Mac nodded against his forehead. Harm backed up so she was no longer trapped against the counter and smiled as she readied the table for dinner.

"Mmm, this is really good, Mac," Harm said after they had begun eating.

"Why, thank you Harm. I'm glad it meets up to your high culinary standards," Mac teased as she took a bite of the baked pasta.

Harm rolled his eyes and continued eating.

After dinner, Mac picked up the dirty dishes and began to clean the casserole dish she had used to bake in.

Harm walked next to her and tugged on her arm, "That can wait until later." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"But, if I don't clean it now, then all the cheese is going to stick and it'll be hell to clean later," Mac said.

Harm grabbed her waist and whispered into her ear, "Yeah, but if you clean it now, then you won't get to watch me scrub the crap out of it later," he smiled, "I'll even do it shirtless," he added with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Mac giggled, "Well, when you put it like that." She dropped the sponge she was holding and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips met in a tender kiss. Harm lifted Mac up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They continued to kiss as Harm carried her towards the bedroom. Mac chuckled when Harm stumbled over a toy truck Josh had left lying in the middle of the living room. "Clumsy," she muttered with a giggle.

"Clumsy, huh?" Harm asked as they reached Mac's bedroom. He threw her gently onto the bed. She shrieked playfully as he jumped lightly on top of her. "We'll see about that."

-

Mac woke up when a beam of sunlight from the window hit her across the eyes. Harm's chest was pressed up against her back and his arm was tightly wrapped around her waist. She squinted her eyes against the sun and rolled over to face Harm. She smiled at his disheveled hair and peaceful, sleeping expression. That was the face she wanted to wake up to every morning for the rest of her life; it was one thing she was sure of. She snuggled closer into his chest, carefully placing a kiss in the hollow of his neck. Harm's eyes fluttered open upon feeling her touch.

"Good morning," He said drowsily as he ran his fingers through Mac's hair.

Mac craned her neck upwards to look him in the face, "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It doesn't matter. I like those kinds of awakenings," He smiled and kissed her forehead.

Mac wrapped an arm around his back and squeezed herself closer to him.

"Mmm," Harm sighed pleasantly at her contact and tightened her grip on her. "What time is it?"

"0705," Mac answered without hesitation.

"Ugghh," he moaned groggily, "Too early for a weekend."

Mac chuckled, "No one said we had to get out of bed yet. Just so long as we pick up Josh at 1130."

"I think we can manage that," Harm muttered slowly, already drifting back to sleep. Mac smiled and buried her face into his neck. She inhaled his unique scent and decided that Josh was the only person that had a better smell.

-

Harm woke up later to an empty bed. He heard the shower in the next room and knew that Mac was getting ready for the day. Not having Mac's gift of an accurate internal clock, he lifted his head to peer at the clock on the nightstand. 0812. He flopped his head back onto the bed and ran a hand through his hair. After lying in silence for a moment or two, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled a pair sweatpants on. He walked down the hall to use the other bathroom. As soon as he flushed the toilet he heard a loud shriek from Mac's bedroom. His heart racing, Harm sprinted into her bathroom.

"Mac?!" He asked, panic stricken, "Are you okay?"

"Harmon Rabb, did you flush the other toilet?" Mac asked from behind the shower curtain.

"Uhh," Harm was confused but relieved that nothing was wrong with Mac, "Yeah, I had to use the head."

Harm heard Mac sigh loudly. "You can't use the water in this apartment when someone is in the shower, it either scalds or freezes the person showering."

Harm scratched his head, "Oh… I didn't know," he tried to hide the small chuckle that threatened to escape him, "Are you, uh, okay?"

"I'm fine," Mac replied flatly.

Harm bit his lip to hide his smile. He quickly slipped out of his sweatpants and snuck into the shower behind Mac. He placed his hands on her hips, causing her to jump out of surprise. "I'm sorry," he crooned.

"For scalding me or scaring me?" she asked with a playful undertone.

"Umm, both?" Harm replied. He rested his chin on her slick, bare shoulder. "I can make it up to you," he whispered into her ear.

"Yeah? How?" Mac leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"I could make you breakfast," He suggested as he snaked one of his arms around her stomach.

"Uh-huh," Mac muttered, "What else?"

"Hmmm," Harm ran his lips slowly bag and forth along her jawbone as he thought, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Mac lifted her head back up and turned around to face him, "You could kiss me."

Harm raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I can do that," He lowered his face to hers and pulled her in for a gentle yet passionate kiss. Afterwards, Mac rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his back. Harm kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. The water from the shower fell down on them and trickled down their bodies. They stood under the water for quite some time until the water began to turn cold.

"I think we used up all the hot water," Mac said without moving her head from its position on his chest.

"I think you're right," Harm replied in a low voice.

"So how about that breakfast now, sailor?" Mac looked up at his face with a grin.

"Sure thing," Harm replied and kissed her quickly on the lips. Mac turned the water off and pulled back the shower curtain. She grabbed a couple of towels from the towel rack and tossed one to Harm. Harm quickly dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and picked his sweatpants from the floor.

"I'll go throw some clothes on and cook breakfast while you get dressed, okay?" He asked Mac who was running a towel rapidly through her hair.

"Sounds good," she replied from underneath the towel.

Harm smiled before walking away.

-

Mac walked into the kitchen 12 minutes later to see Harm standing over the stove with a sizzling pan. "Mmm, what smells so good?" she asked with a smile.

"Egg white omelets, my dear," Harm replied, glancing over his shoulder and throwing Mac a grin before turning his attention back to the stove.

Mac sat down at the table and watched him as he slid the eggs off of the pan and onto some plates. He seasoned the eggs and topped them with a sprig of something green that Mac didn't know she had in her kitchen. Then, he carefully balanced the plates on his upper arm and picked up two glasses and the carton of orange juice. Biting his tongue in concentration, he made his way to the table. Mac smiled as Harm slid a plate of food in front of her.

"Juice?" he asked.

"Sure," Mac replied.

Harm smiled and filled a glass and pushed it towards her.

Mac admired the plate of food. "I'm going to have to watch myself around you. I might accidentally start eating healthy."

"Well," Harm said as he sat down across from her. "I saw the can of cinnamon rolls in the fridge; figured I'd save them for tomorrow morning when Josh is here."

Mac nodded as she chewed a bite of omelet. "This is good," she observed.

"Expect anything different?" Harm teased.

"Of course not," Mac said, rolling her eyes ever so slightly.

Harm chuckled. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" he asked.

Mac thought as she took a sip of orange juice, "I have some errands I need to get to around town before picking up Josh."

"Okay," Harm said as he stabbed his omelet with a fork.

"Like, I need to run to the bank before it closes at noon," Mac said, "And I need to pick my dress uniform up from the cleaners," she continued, "Oh, and I really should drop some books off at the library."

"Anything else?" Harm teased with a smirk.

Mac, taking Harm seriously, furrowed her brow in concentration, "I don't _think _so. Although, I might need to fill my Jeep up with gas. It was pretty low last I looked."

"Well, we better get started, then," Harm said as he stood up, "The morning is passing fast." He picked up his empty plate and reached for Mac's. She handed it to him and rose to her feet.

"You still gotta clean that casserole dish for me. Don't forget," She said with a wink before swiveling away to put her shoes on.

Harm chuckled as he watched her walk away. "How could I?" he asked himself.

-

To be Continued… 


	23. Bowling For Dummies

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

_A/N: Back from vacation! I had a great time, but I am glad to be home. Anyways, I hadn't intended for this chapter to be so long, but I had so much fun writing this one for some reason, it kind of just… expanded, heheh. In case you were wondering, I had just watched Hail and Farewell Pt 2 (for the umpteenth time!) when I began this chapter, and if you've seen that episode, you'll know where I kind of got the inspiration for the big house in the beginning of this chapter. So, anyway, enjoy, and don't hesitate to review!_

_-_

1123 Local Time

**Saturday**

**Washington, DC**

"Damn, is that house big enough?" Harm peered out the passenger window of Mac's Jeep as she pulled into the driveway of a very large estate. Having finished all of Mac's errands, they were just in time to pick up Josh from his sleepover.

"Ah, yes," Mac said, "This is Sullivan's house."

"Sullivan?" Harm questioned, still looking out the window at the house.

"Yeah. His parents are old money. You know how it is," Mac put the vehicle into park.

"Yeah," Harm replied absent mindedly. "Does Josh know I'm with you?"

"Um, no, I don't think I told him," Mac said as she opened her door. Harm did the same and they approached the intimidating building together. Once at the front door, Mac rang the doorbell. "I hope this is the right door," she joked.

Soon, a stately looking woman opened the door and eyed them carefully.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Josh?" Mac said hesitantly. She had to admit the older woman scared her just a bit.

The woman nodded Mac and Harm inside, "The children are this way."

Mac glanced back at Harm as they entered the house. They both looked around the large interior. If they thought the exterior of the estate was fancy, it was nothing compared to the finely furnished rooms. The woman led them deeper and deeper into the house.

Harm walked beside Mac and whispered into her ear, "Well, I think I know how Sullivan's mother handled seven boys. Each of them probably had their own servant."

Mac glanced at him and raised her eyebrows.

The woman finally came to a stop in front of a wooden door. She pushed the door inwards into a large, open room. It was a surprisingly airy space, as the whole back wall was made of windows that revealed the backyard. The room was filled with bean bag chairs and couches. A large TV set was in the corner and various games and toys littered the floor. There were seven sleeping bags in the corner of the room. Mac could see the boys running around outside playing what seemed to be a simplistic version of soccer. She smiled upon seeing Josh gaining control of the ball and kicking it across the field.

"As you can see, the children are outside with the nanny," the woman said and indicated another, younger looking woman standing near the boys, "You are welcome to go outside and get your son."

Mac finally broke her eyes away from the boys and looked at the woman, "Thank you."

The woman nodded and turned away, leaving Harm and Mac alone in the room.

Harm glanced at Mac with a half-amused smile and walked towards the door that led outside. He opened it for Mac, and ushered her through, "This way, madam," he said and bowed slightly.

Mac chuckled and walked through the door, "Stop it."

"Just having a bit of fun, Major," Harm teased as they walked across the manicured lawn towards the nanny.

"Oh, hello," the young woman greeted when they reached her, "I'm Mary Holt, Sullivan's nanny. You must be Joshua's mother."

Mac smiled, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"It's the eyes, ma'am. Joshua has your eyes," Mary smiled, "Joshua is very well behaved. He didn't cause any trouble."

"Good, I'm glad," Mac replied as Josh and the group of boys stopped their game and ran over towards the adults.

"Hi momma!" Josh called and came to a stop in front of her. He noticed Harm and added, "Oh, hello Commander!"

"Good morning Josh," Harm smiled.

"Momma," Josh turned his attention back to his mother, "This is Sullivan," Josh said and gently pulled a boy behind him to the front of the group.

"Hello, ma'am," Sullivan looked up at her.

Mac smiled down at the well dressed little boy, "Hi Sullivan."

"Oh, you can just call me Sully, ma'am. People only call me Sullivan in front of my mother," the boy said.

Mac chuckled, "Okay, Sully."

"Josh said that you're in the marines," a boy spoke up from the back of the group.

"That's right," Mac said, "And Commander Rabb is in the Navy," Mac motioned towards Harm.

"Then why aren't you in uniform?" Another boy asked.

"We're not on duty right now," Harm replied, "We wear normal clothes when we're not working."

"Oh," the boy muttered.

"You about ready to go, Josh?" Mac asked her son.

"Yep," Josh said before looking away from Mac to something behind her.

Mac turned around to see a woman in high heels making her difficult way across the grass.

"Hi," the woman reached her hand out to Harm, completely ignoring Mac, "I'm Cecile Anderson, Sullivan's mother."

"Oh, um, hi," Harm tentatively shook the woman's hand, "I'm-"

The woman interrupted him with a bubbly giggle. "I know who you are," she said, causing Harm to raise his eyebrows, "You're one of the boy's fathers."

"Actually, Mrs. Anderson," Mac cut in, "He's Harmon Rabb, a, uh, friend of mine. I'm Joshua's mother."

This news didn't seem to phase the woman. Instead, she gave an easygoing chuckle, "Oh, of course, silly me."

"Mother," Sully spoke up, "She's the one I told you about. The one who is in the marines."

"Oh, are you now?" Cecile quickly ran her eyes up and down Mac.

"Yes, ma'am," Mac replied, becoming uncomfortable at the woman's stares. "Uh, Josh," Mac looked down to her son, "Do you have all of your things together.?"

Josh nodded, "All my stuff is inside."

"Good. Did you tell Mrs. Anderson thank you?"

"Thank you Mrs. Anderson," Josh looked up at the woman.

"Oh, no, dear, thank _you_ for coming," the woman smiled widely.

Josh smiled and turned his attention to his friends, "Bye Sullivan. I'll see you on Monday. Bye guys," Josh waved to the rest of his friends.

Josh received good-byes in return. Mac thanked Sully's mother and nanny again, and the group walked back to the house. Josh quickly gathered his bag of clothes and other belongings before they made their way back through the maze of a house to the front door.

"So, did you have a nice time, Josh?" Harm asked after they were all buckled into Mac's Jeep.

Josh shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. I think I like our house better."

Mac chuckled, "Why's that?"

"Well, we could only really play in that one room because they were afraid we'd break something. Last night, we really wanted to play outside in that big backyard, but they didn't let us go out until this morning."

"Different people live different ways, Josh," Mac said.

"I know," Josh replied and looked down at his shoes.

"Well, did you still have fun?" Harm asked.

"Yeah, we did lots of fun things. I like his nanny. She had games and stuff planned for us."

"That's good. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Harm said as he peered out of the passenger window.

Josh sat in silence for a few moments before cocking his head the side, "Why are you here, Commander Rabb?"

Harm chuckled, "Your mom and I thought it would be fun to spend the weekend together," he turned around to look at Josh in the back seat, "We are going to go by your house first so you can take a bath and drop your things off, and then we are going to go eat lunch. How does that sound?" Harm asked with a wide grin.

Josh's face lit up, "That sounds great!"

Mac smiled and Harm chuckled, "Good."

-

"So what are we doing now?" Josh asked as he skipped ahead of Harm and Mac in the parking lot and reached the Jeep. They had just finished eating lunch at Josh's favorite burger joint (which also conveniently sold exceptional veggie burgers), and Josh was eager to find out what was planned for the remainder of the day.

"We thought we'd let you decide," Mac said as she unlocked the doors of her vehicle. "We could do putt putt golf, go see a movie, go bowling-"

"Ooh! Bowling! Let's go bowling," Josh said eagerly.

Harm chuckled, "Okay, bowling it is."

Josh grinned excitedly as he scrambled into the back seat of the Jeep. Mac smiled at Harm as they, too, climbed into the car.

A few minutes later, Mac had parked in front of the bowling alley and they all exited the Jeep. Josh grabbed Mac's hand in his and pulled her towards the building, his eagerness making Harm smile to himself. Once inside, Josh glanced around as Harm and Mac got shoes and paid.

Upon seeing something that caught his attention, Josh tugged on Mac's shirt, "Hey, momma," he tried to catch her attention.

"Just a second, Josh," Mac said down to her son and turned her attention back to the cashier across the counter.

Josh cocked his head to the side, "But isn't that Lieutenant Roberts?"

Harm looked down at Josh and followed his gaze across the room to where Bud and Harriet were standing near a bowling lane. Harm chuckled, "Hey, it sure is." Harm gave a sideways glance at Mac, who wasn't paying attention, "Mac, it looks like we have company."

Mac finally looked up and stared at him blankly, "What?"

Harm grinned and nodded his head in the direction of their two friends, "Bud and Harriet."

Mac looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Shall we go meet them?" she asked. Josh nodded eagerly and scampered off. Mac grabbed their bowling shoes from the counter and she and Harm followed Josh to their friends.

As they approached, Bud's bowling ball struck down all of the pins. "Haha! That makes three in a row. A turkey!" Bud exclaimed and looked at his wife.

"Yay! That's great honey!" Harriet clapped her hands and smiled.

"Wow, Bud, you're quite the bowler," Harm said.

Bud and Harriet both swiveled around to face Harm. "Oh, hello, sir," Bud said, rather surprised. He then noticed Mac, "Ma'am," he added before looking down at the little boy next to her, "Josh," Bud added once more with a confused expression.

Harriet chuckled, "We didn't expect to meet you guys here."

Mac smiled, "Nor did we."

"Come to do some bowling, ma'am?" Bud asked.

"We're spendin' the weekend together," Josh looked up at Bud with a grin.

"Aw, that's nice," Harriet cooed.

Mac bobbed her head and smiled, "Yeah, and first thing on the agenda was bowling," she said as she ruffled Josh's hair.

Harriet smiled, "Well, we just got here. Bud wanted to practice."

Harm chuckled as he sat down to slip on his bowling shoes. "Practice for what?"

"The tournament coming up, sir," Bud replied.

"I didn't know you competed, Bud," Mac said as she knelt down to tie Josh's shoes.

"It's a recent development, ma'am."

"But he's pretty good, ma'am. He got second place at the last tournament." Harriet chimed in.

"That was just a small tournament, Harriet. This next one is going to be huge," Bud held out his arms to emphasis the "huge" part.

"Can you teach me to bowl, Lieutenant?" Josh asked hopefully.

Bud smiled, "Sure Josh, I can teach you to bowl."

"You'll have to," Mac chuckled, "I can't bowl if my life depended on it."

"I find that hard to believe," Harriet said, to which Mac responded by rolling her eyes.

"I don't," Harm teased as he stood up from slipping on his shoes.

"Harm!" Mac cried with an open-mouthed grin. "Fine, then, let's see how well you can bowl," Mac said and motioned towards the rack of bowling balls.

Harm lifted his chin up. "I'll have you know, Major, that I am an excellent bowler," he boasted as he grabbed a ball from the rack.

"Oh dear," Harriet murmured. Bud snickered quietly.

Harm walked with his swirly-blue bowling ball to the lane next to the one Bud was using. While squinting his eyes and biting his lip, he held the ball in front of him and aimed carefully. He gently tossed it down the lane, as if he knew what he was doing. At first, the ball rolled straight, making Harm grin cockily. His expression soon faded, however, when the ball changed course and rolled into the gutter.

Mac immediately doubled over in laughter. "You're a w-wonderful bowler, H-Harm," Mac said in between sobs of laughter.

"What the hell was that?!" Harm exclaimed.

"That would be a gutter ball, sir," Bud said while doing his best to not show his amusement.

Harm turned a deep shade of red. "There must be something wrong with that ball," Harm objected.

"Don't try to shift the blame," Mac said as she removed the bowling ball from the ball return.

"Fine then, you try it," Harm said.

"We already know that I can't bowl, so it would prove nothing," Mac replied.

"You chicken?" Harm asked.

"No!" Mac said quickly.

Harm raised his eyebrows and asked, "So what are you waiting for?"

Mac glared at him before walking to the lane. She, like Harm, carefully aimed and rolled the ball down the alley. The ball rolled gracefully down the lane and knocked down all but two pins. Mac smiled at Harm.

"Well, you didn't knock them all down," Harm said.

"I did better than you," Mac countered.

"It was luck."

Mac shrugged, "Maybe."

Having watched the exchange between Harm and Mac with much amusement, Harriet said, "Commander, I think you may have to admit defeat."

"Fine," Harm said smugly, "That's just fine. I can admit defeat."

Mac raised her eyebrows at this.

"Mac," Harm turned to her and said, "You just might be a better bowler than me." Harm paused and glanced at his friends, "There, I said it."

"Can I try now?" Josh asked, innocently changing the subject.

"Of course, baby, let's find you a smaller ball," Mac said with a smile. She found a smaller, orange ball and handed it to Josh.

"Come here, Josh, and I'll show you some tricks," Bud said.

Josh smiled and went eagerly to the Lieutenant.

"Maybe you should go listen in, Harm. You might learn something," Mac said with a smile.

Harm rolled his eyes playfully and walked to where Bud was assisting Josh.

Mac and Harriet walked to the nearby chairs and sat down.

"You're not going to bowl, ma'am?" Harriet asked.

"Nah," Mac shook her head, "I'm not much of a bowler. Besides," she continued, "Sometimes just watching can be much more entertaining."

She and Harriet both chuckled at the sight of Harm trying to mimic the motions Bud was showing Josh. Mac smiled when Josh's ball rolled down the alley and knocked down some pins. Josh grinned proudly and turned to face Mac.

Mac clapped, "Way to go, baby!" she called to Josh. He smiled and spun back around to continue his lesson with Bud.

"He's soooo cute, ma'am," Harriet said, "He's one of the most adorable kids I've ever met."

Mac smiled, "Thanks, I think so too," Mac looked at Harriet's ever-growing pregnant belly, "You'll have one soon too."

Harriet put a hand on her stomach, "Yeah, I'm so excited. Although, I am sure the first few weeks will be hard."

"Yeah, but those days pass all to quickly, Harriet," Mac said and looked at her friend, "Make sure to relish every single day, because before you know it, your little crying newborn will be… bowling," Mac nodded her head to indicate Josh. Harriet remained silent while she thought about what Mac said. "I wish I would've been there more when Josh was a baby. I regret not seeing him change everyday. Not seeing him grow," Mac frowned slightly.

Harriet looked at Mac, "You're here now, ma'am, that's what's important."

Mac gave a small nod before they were interrupted by Harm who walked up and at in the chair next to Mac. Both women looked at him.

"You're getting your butt whooped out there, sailor," Mac said and handed him a water bottle that was by her feet.

Harm took it from her and gulped some water down. "Yeah, well, you know," Harm said, "It's hard to compete with a six year old being taught by Bud."

Mac chuckled and watched Bud patiently coach Josh.

"Hey, what time's it getting to be?" Harm asked.

"1533," Mac answered without hesitation.

"You know," Harm said to Harriet, "She does that all the time. It can get annoying. I don't even know why she has an alarm clock next to her bed. It's not like she needs it."

"I have an accurate internal _clock_, Harm, my internal alarm clock, on the other hand, can be sketchy," Mac replied with a knowing look.

"Oh," Harm held his hands up in defense, "Excuse me," He teased.

Mac chuckled and elbowed him in the side.

Harriet laughed at the playful exchange between her coworkers.

"Momma," Josh called to Mac a few minutes later, "Come play."

"Yeah momma, go play," Harm said with a smiled. He nudged her forward.

Mac glanced quickly between Josh and Harm before standing up and walking to meet her son near the lanes. She swiftly grabbed a green bowling ball on her way.

"She seems so happy, doesn't she?" Harriet asked Harm.

Harm nodded with a smile, "Yeah, she does. Josh makes her happy."

"So do you," Harriet looked at Harm.

Harm shrugged.

"Oh, stop it Commander, you know you do," Harriet chuckled.

"She makes me happy too," Harm said softly.

This made Harriet smile, "That's so sweet."

Harm glanced at Harriet quickly before turning his attention towards Mac, Josh, and Bud.

Josh smiled widely as he watched his mother's ball hit the alley with a thud and roll smoothly toward the pins, taking seven of them down upon contact. "See, I'm not very good," Mac's voice floated across the room to where Harm and Harriet where sitting.

"That's not true, ma'am, you still have a chance for a strike," Harm heard Bud tell her.

Mac cocked her head to the side as she concentrated. She rolled her ball down the lane. It took down two more pins, leaving one standing. "Ick," Mac said.

"Well, that was a hard shot. The pins were on opposite sides," Bud commented.

"That's okay, Bud, bowling just isn't my thing."

"No, honestly, ma'am, nine out of ten isn't bad."

Harm chuckled as he watched the scene. It was nice to see Mac take a moment to relax and have a bit of fun.

It wasn't long until Mac, Josh, and Bud had all finished their game and walked to meet Harm and Harriet.

"Did you see us?" Josh asked Harm, "Momma's pretty good, huh?"

Harm looked up at Mac, who was smiling, "Yeah, she is." He looked down at Josh, "So are you," He poked the little boy in the stomach, making him giggle.

Harriet glanced at her watch, "Ooh, Bud, we gotta get going."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bud said and looked at Mac to explain, "We're going look at nursery furniture this evening."

"Y'all haven't gotten that yet?" Mac asked.

Harriet shook her head and shot Bud a glare, "We can't decide what kind of wood. I like the idea of a white wood, but Bud likes the darker cherry color."

Mac nodded, understanding, "Oh, I see. Well, both are nice."

"Yeah," Harriet said as she tried to stand up. Bud noticed her struggle and helped her up.

"Well, we should get going too," Mac said and looked down at Harm who nodded in agreement. He stood up next to Mac.

"That was fun," Harm said.

"Yeah," Josh piped in, "Thanks for the bowling lesson Lieutenant Roberts."

"It was my pleasure, Josh," Bud replied, "And, I've told you, you can call me Bud, you don't have to keep up with this lieutenant stuff."

Josh smiled and shrugged.

Mac chuckled and put a hand on Josh's shoulder, "It was nice meeting you both here, we'll have to do it again sometime."

"Certainly, ma'am," Harriet said. "We'll see you both on Monday." Harriet gently tugged Josh's nose and wiggled it, "Bye Josh."

"Bye," the little boy said sweetly.

With a final goodbye, Bud put a hand in the small of Harriet's back, and the couple walked out the building.

Josh looked up at his mother with the devilish, yet innocent smile only a child could make. "What next?" he asked.

Harm and Mac, who were both exhausted, looked at each other. "Don't you ever get tired?" Harm asked.

Josh shook his head, "Nope. Never."

-

To Be Continued… 


	24. Someone Needs an Easy Bake Oven

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

_A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter, but RL was kind of crazy, so the story had to wait. But, I haven't disappeared, and hopefully, updates should become more regular! Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and don't hesitate to review!_

* * *

**2027 Local Time Saturday**

**Mac's Apartment**

"I can't believe you've never seen that movie before," Mac said to Harm as they watched the credits for _The Lady and the Tramp_ roll.

Harm shrugged and looked down at Mac who was reclined against him on the couch. "Well, I've seen it now," Harm replied.

Mac chuckled and gazed down her legs at Josh who was curled up by her feet. "You tired, baby?" she asked.

Josh only nodded sleepily.

Mac smiled. She knew he had to run out of energy eventually. She moved herself off of Harm's chest and swung her legs off the couch to stand up. Reaching her hand out to Josh, she said, "Come on, I'll tuck you in."

Josh slowly uncurled from his spot on the couch and grabbed his mother's hand.

Mac started to lead him away towards his room when he stopped and turned around. "Hold on," he said. He walked back to the couch and hugged Harm around the neck. "Goodnight Commander," he said.

Harm hugged him tightly back, "Goodnight Josh. Sweet dreams."

Mac couldn't help but smile. The sweet scene made her heart melt. Josh was soon back at Mac's side and grabbed her hand again.

"Okay," he said, "Let's go."

"I'll be right back," Mac said over her shoulder to Harm as she brought Josh to his room.

Harm nodded in response and stretched out on the couch. He closed his eyes and dosed off without realizing. He awoke with a start when he felt a heavy weight leap onto him. He opened his eyes to see Mac on top of him staring him in the face.

Mac shook her head before saying anything, "It's much too early for you to fall asleep, Commander."

"Why's that?" Harm asked with a grin.

Mac covered his grin with her lips, "Because," she said as she kissed him.

"I'm sorry, but that just isn't a good enough reason," Harm decided to play along instead of just giving into the temptations her kisses brought.

"Hmmm," Mac mused. She squinted her eyes and pulled on the front of his shirt, causing the buttons to pop undone. "Let me clarify," she said and placed kisses on his finely chiseled chest.

"I'm afraid I still don't know what you mean," Harm said, still grinning widely.

"Well, any further explanation must be done elsewhere," Mac replied and stood up from the couch. She grabbed Harm's hand and tugged his arm.

He leaped off the couch and swiftly swooped Mac into his arms, causing her to quietly shriek. She giggled as he carried her towards the bedroom.

"What if Josh wakes up?" Harm asked.

"He won't. That kid sleeps like a rock."

Harm closed the bedroom door with his foot and gently tossed Mac onto the bed. With a devious smile, he turned off the lights and made his way across the room to join Mac.

-

**0826 Local Time**

**Sunday**

**Mac's Apartment**

"Momma," Mac heard Josh's call from the other room.

"Yeah?" she asked coming into the kitchen. She saw Josh sitting on the counter top and Harm standing over the oven.

"I think Commander Rabb burnt the cinnamon rolls," Josh said with a slight look of worry.

"They aren't burnt," Harm objected, "They are just… well-done."

Mac frowned at the blackened heap that Harm had just pulled from the oven, "They're well-done, alright." Harm shot her a dirty look, but Mac continued anyway, "I don't understand this, Harm. You can make the most amazing recipes from scratch, but give you a can of cinnamon rolls, and… this happens."

"I think something is wrong with your oven," Harm protested.

Mac shook her head, "It's always the oven's fault. Poor oven."

"Well, they might still be edible," Harm looked down at the cinnamon rolls.

"But… they're black," Josh said with furrowed eyebrows, "They're not supposed to be black."

Mac chuckled, "No, they're not," she glanced at Harm. He rolled his eyes.

"Well Josh," Harm tapped the little boy lightly on the knee, "Go get dressed. It looks like we're going out for breakfast.."

This news made the boy smile. He scrambled off the counter top and ran to his room. Harm wrapped his arms around Mac's waist, "Sorry I burnt your cinnamon rolls," he murmured into her ear.

Mac let out a loud, teasing sigh, "Thaaat's okay."

"I'll try to do better next time," Harm said with a nod of his head.

This made Mac chuckle. She patted his chest and said, "I'll just have to buy you an Easy Bake Oven for your birthday."

Harm squinted his eyes, but was kept from otherwise replying when Josh skipped into the kitchen fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. "Okay, I'm ready; let's go."

Harm and Mac both turned to look at him. "That was fast," Mac observed.

Josh beamed proudly before saying, "I'm really hungry."

"See, Mac, he's food driven, just like you," Harm teased.

Mac ignored his comment and ran her eyes over Josh to make sure he was, indeed, ready to go. She frowned when she saw his bare feet, "Where are your shoes, Josh? Go slip 'em on."

Josh looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes. He swiftly spun around and ran back to his room.

"So what are we doing today?" Mac asked Harm as they waited for Josh to return.

"I thought you wanted to go to that new exhibit at the museum?" Harm sat down at the kitchen table.

"Well, it was a suggestion. I thought Josh might enjoy it."

Harm nodded, "Sounds perfect."

"Momma!" Josh called Mac from across the house. "I can't find my other shoe!"

Mac closed her eyes and groaned quietly, "That kid would lose his head if it wasn't attached," she muttered to Harm.

Harm grinned and laughed in response, "That's every kid Mac."

"I guess so," Mac said to Harm before calling to Josh, "Did you check under your bed?"

"Yeah! It's not there!"

Harm chuckled at Mac's less than pleased expression.

"Let me go save the day," Mac said with a sigh.

"I'll be here," Harm said, smiling widely.

-

**1426 Local Time**

**Sunday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Mac unlocked the door and Harm, Josh, and herself walked into the dimly lit apartment. Mac flipped a few light switches on. She hung her purse on a hook near the door.

"Well, that was lots of fun," Josh said excitedly, referring to their museum trip. "All the plane models they had were super cool. Weren't they Commander Rabb?"

"They were very cool," Harm replied.

Josh kicked his shoes off in the middle of living room rug.

"Is that where your shoes belong, Mr. Philips?" Mac asked.

Josh looked down at his sneakers and picked them up. He obediently brought them to his room.

"Well, I should probably go home for a little while, Mac," Harm said reluctantly.

Mac frowned, "You can't stay?"

"I haven't been home all weekend. I need to check on my apartment and take care of a few errands."

Nodding, Mac said, "I understand."

Harm smiled and kissed her before walking to her bedroom to retrieve his bag of clothes. Mac followed him and watched as he picked up various articles of clothing from around the room. He walked into the bathroom. Mac heard him clunk around in there for a few moments before he poked his head around the corner. "Hey, can I leave my bathroom stuff here?"

"Absolutely," Mac smiled. She liked the idea of seeing a man's toiletries in her bathroom again. "You can even have part of a shelf if you want."

"Oooh, I get my own 'part'?" Harm teased.

"Yeah, you must be special," Mac replied.

Harm grinned as he came out of the bathroom. He slung his bag of clothes over his shoulder and grabbed Mac by the waist. Mac reached up to kiss him. "I had a really great time this weekend," Harm said after their lips finally broke apart.

"I did too," Mac agreed, "We'll have to do it again."

Harm caressed her cheek, "Absolutely," he replied confidently. He leaned down and gently kissed her, leaving Mac breathless. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he walked out the bedroom and through the living room towards the door.

"Yep, bright and early," Mac said with a smile. As if on cue, Josh suddenly appeared next to Mac.

"You leaving Commander?" he asked.

Harm ruffled the boy's hair, "Yep, I've got some things to do around my house."

"Well, I had fun Commander. When'll I see you again?"

Harm knelt down in front of the little boy, "Sometime this week, I'm sure. I had fun too," he affectionately poked the little boy in the stomach, making Josh giggle. "Bye Josh."

"Bye," the boy smiled.

Harm stood back up and gave Mac one last kiss before leaving. "See you in the morning," He said as he walked through the door. "Love you."

Mac could practically feel her intestines turn to mush at the sound of those words from his lips. She doubted if they would ever get old. "Love you too," she replied.

Harm flashed her his flyboy grin and waltzed down the hall and into the elevator.

Mac bit her lip against a smile and closed the door.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_


	25. Six Flags over Missing You

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

_A/N: Another chapter for you all. This one's longer. I think I've pretty much figured out the rest of the storyline for this story, so things may get wrapped up in the next few chapters. But, have no fears, I am planning to do a sequel. I think it's just getting time to finish this one up. Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews!!! I love 'em!_

* * *

**0738 Local Time**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Two Weeks Later**

Harm and Mac entered the building together. They had taken separate cars to the office, though they certainly started out at the same place. The past two weeks passed quickly, but Harm, Mac, and Josh had spent most of their free time together. In fact, Harm had all but officially moved into Mac's apartment, though no one at JAG had the need to know that.

After hitting the button for the appropriate floor in the elevator and watching the doors slide close, Harm glanced around the upper corners of the elevator, "You think there are cameras in here?"

Mac frowned slightly in confusion and answered hesitantly, "I wouldn't think so."

"Good," Harm replied, "Because that means I can do this," he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Mac chuckled and smiled up at him. When the doors to the elevator opened, they both walked into the bullpen with pleased smiles on their faces.

"Commander Rabb," the admiral called from across the room, causing both Harm and Mac to stop and look up. "Can I see you in my office?" the admiral asked before turning around and walking back through his office door.

"Yes sir," Harm replied, more to himself than to his CO. "I'll catch you later, Mac," he smiled at her briefly as he dropped his briefcase and cover into his office and walked to meet the admiral.

Mac smiled and nodded back in response. She walked into her own office, not realizing Harriet was closely tailing behind her.

"Nice weekend, ma'am?" the ensign asked from Mac's doorway. Mac shifted her gaze from her desk up to Harriet.

"Very nice, Harriet," she replied.

Harriet's face got that sly expression that Mac knew all too well. "Arrive together ma'am?"

Mac rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Look in the parking lot, Harriet. Separate cars."

Harriet shrugged, "That doesn't mean anything ma'am."

Mac sighed and decided to just give in, "Okay, Harriet, you caught us."

With a huge grin, Harriet clapped her hands together and made an odd, squeaking sound. Without another word, she spun on her heels and left Mac's office.

Mac watched her friend leave with raised eyebrows and a rather amazed smile. She shook her head. She gave up trying to understand Harriet a long time ago.

-

"Commander," the admiral addressed Harm once they were both seated in his office. "I need you to go to the Seahawk for an investigation involving a lieutenant and an ensign. Your flight leaves at 1130 from Andrew's Air Force Base. I have to warn you, this investigation will probably take at least a week, maybe more."

Harm's previous good mood quickly dissipated. He didn't want to leave Mac and Josh.

Sensing Harm's disappointment, the admiral added, "I talked to the CAG. He said you can keep up your quals while you're there."

"That's very nice, sir, thank you," Harm replied, rather distractedly.

"Nice enthusiasm, Mr. Rabb!" the admiral bellowed sarcastically.

Harm shook himself from the daze he was in. "Sorry, sir."

"Did you not hear me?" the admiral asked. "You get to fly." The admiral thrust his arms out to the side like airplane wings.

Harm raised his eyebrows at his CO's uncharacteristic actions before answering. "I heard you, sir," he replied.

The admiral shook his head and looked down at the paperwork on his desk. "I thought I had it rough worrying when you two are together. Now I have to worry when you're apart too?"

"I'm sorry sir. It's just Mac and I-" Harm shook his head and corrected himself, "The Major and I were planning on taking Josh to Six Flags this Saturday. We were all pretty excited."

The admiral frowned, understanding Harm's unfortunate predicament, "I'm sorry, son."

Harm nodded his head in acknowledgement and watched as the admiral flipped through some papers on his desk.

"It sounds like you two are getting pretty serious," the admiral broke the awkward silence with a step out of his comfort zone. He would be a fool not to know what was going on between Harm and Mac, and there was no use in denying it any longer.

A hint of a smile appeared on Harm's face, as it always did when Mac was involved. "Yes, sir. Although, despite my best attempts to get Josh to call me 'Harm,' he still insists on calling me 'Commander Rabb.' He says that he would feel disrespectful if he called an adult by their first name." Harm's smile widened.

The admiral openly chuckled, "At six years old, that boy already has the makings of a mighty fine officer."

"Yes sir. But then again, he's got a mighty fine Marine as a mother." Harm replied with a grin.

"That he does," the admiral agreed with a nostalgic smile before regaining his sense of seriousness. He handed Harm some papers, "Here's the details for your trip."

Harm took the papers and glanced over them, "Thank you sir."

"Listen, tell Mac I'm sorry for ruining your weekend."

"I will, sir," Harm replied, "I'm sure she'll understand."

"I'm sure she will," the admiral repeated, "Dismissed."

Harm stood up quickly at attention, "Aye sir."

-

"Hey Sailor," Mac smiled at Harm as he walked into her office and sat down in front of her desk, "What'd the admiral want?"

"I'm leaving for the Seahawk at 1130," Harm answered simply.

Mac's face fell, "For how long?"

"At least a week."

Mac frowned, "Well that sucks."

Harm nodded.

"I guess we'll have to postpone Six Flags."

Harm nodded again, "The admiral told me to tell you that he's sorry for ruining our weekend."

This brought the slightest smile across Mac's face. "You told him?" she asked with a short chuckle.

Harm shrugged, "I had to tell him something. He noticed I didn't get any happier when he told me I could keep up my quals."

Mac gave a small nod, "So you'll be flying?"

"Yes," Harm replied. He noticed the worried look on her face, "Do you not want me to?"

Mac shook her head, "No Harm, that's not it. Go fly, just be… careful."

"Yes, mom," Harm teased.

Mac rolled her eyes.

Harm reached across her desk and grabbed her hands, momentarily ignoring the fact that they were at work, in Mac's office, with the blinds open. "I'm going to miss you and Josh _so_ much."

"And we'll miss you," Mac squeezed his hands in response.

Harm reluctantly retracted his hand and glanced at his watch. "I'll be leaving in less than two and a half hours, and I have to get everything in order. I need to stop by your apartment and pick some things up."

Mac nodded, "You have a key."

Harm smiled and stood up, "I'll stop by here before I go to Andrew's, okay?"

"You better," Mac said as she stood up.

Harm smiled Mac's favorite smile and turned to leave.

Mac sighed deeply and sank back down into her chair.

-

One hour and thirty-four seconds later, Mac looked up from her paperwork when Harm knocked on her doorframe. She smiled at him.

Harm walked in and closed the door.

Mac stood up and walked around her desk, "That time already, huh?" she asked.

" 'Fraid so," Harm replied.

Mac nodded and drew the blinds to her office windows. As soon as she did, Harm enveloped her into a strong hug. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss.

"You be careful up there, Harm," Mac said seriously.

"Always, always," he answered with a soft, low voice.

Mac caressed his face with her hand, "I love you."

Harm smiled and wrapped her in another tight hug, "I love you too," He leaned back to look her in the eyes, "I'll be back before you know it, you'll see."

Mac attempted a smile and gave him a small nod.

"I'll call you every chance I get," Harm said.

"If you don't you're a dead man," Mac teased.

Harm chuckled, "I gotta run. Don't want to miss my flight," Harm said and gave Mac another kiss. He reluctantly pulled away from Mac and opened her office door. "Bye," he said.

"Bye," Mac replied with a small smile. She leaned against her doorframe and watched him walk through the bullpen.

From the sidelines, Harriet watched him leave. She saw Mac still standing by her office. "How long is he going to be gone, ma'am?" she asked.

"At least a week, maybe more. It depends," Mac replied.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I know I hate it whenever Bud leaves."

Mac shrugged, "Duty calls." She walked back into her office.

"That doesn't keep it from sucking though," Harriet said from the doorway.

Mac smiled slightly at this, "No, it certainly doesn't."

-

**1702 Local Time**

**Georgetown Child Care**

**Georgetown**

"Sorry I'm a little late, Josh," Mac said as she and her son walked across the parking lot to her Jeep.

"Only by two minutes," Josh replied.

Mac chuckled, "How was your day?"

"Fine. I got a note."

"A note?" Mac looked down at her son as he pulled something out of his backpack.

"Yeah," he looked at the paper he held, "No school on Wednesday. Teacher... in... something or another." He handed the paper up to her.

She took it, "Let's see," she scanned the note quickly, "Ah, a teacher-in-service day."

"What's that?" Josh asked as he climbed into the car.

"It's just a day when teachers go to work, but the kids stay at home," Mac answered him as she started the engine for the Jeep.

"Oh," Josh replied. "Well, anyway, I think it's on the calendar, but they sent out a note anyway."

Mac nodded, "We'll just have to figure out what I'm going to do with you that day."

Josh looked around the car, "Where's Commander Rabb?"

"He had to leave for an investigation."

"When'll he be back?"

"In about a week."

Josh frowned slightly, "I'm going to miss him."

"Me too," Mac agreed.

"So no Six Flags this weekend?" Josh looked up at his mother.

"No, hon, I'm sorry. We'll reschedule, though."

Josh nodded, "It's okay."

"Thanks for understanding," Mac smiled, "We can still do something fun."

Josh smiled, "Can we have pizza tonight?"

"You are a pizza fiend!" Mac teased with a laugh.

Josh shrugged, "I like pizza."

Mac smiled, "What kind do you want?"

Josh bounced in his seat and grinned widely, knowing he won.

-

**1324 Local Time**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

"You wanted to see me, Major?" the admiral looked up at Mac from behind his desk.

"Yes, sir," Mac began, "Josh doesn't have school tomorrow, and-"

"You were wondering if you could bring him here?" the admiral finished her sentence.

Mac made a slight grimace, "If it isn't too much trouble, sir. Because, I understand if-"

The admiral shook his head and cut her off, "Of course not, bring him over."

A relieved smile washed over Mac's face, "Thank you, sir."

"Not a problem. Anything else?" the admiral peered up at her.

"No, sir."

The admiral bobbed his head, "Okay, then. Dismissed."

"Aye, sir," Mac said before turning to leave.

"Oh, Mac," the admiral caught her attention before she left.

She spun back around, "Sir?"

"Have you heard from Commander Rabb?"

"He called last night to let me know that he got to the Seahawk, and that he was settled and everything was fine."

"Good. That's good," the admiral looked back down at his paperwork.

Mac glanced around the room, "Uh... is that all, sir?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Mac bobbed her head once in acknowledgment and left.

-

**2207 Local Time**

**Mac's Apartment**

**Georgetown**

Mac was curled up on the couch with a book. The TV was on, but the volume was low. She was waiting up for the call she expected from Harm. Josh padded softly into the living room.

"Hon," she looked up from her book when she saw him, "What are you doing up? You okay?"

"I can't sleep," the little boy answered, "I miss Commander Rabb."

Mac frowned, "Aw, baby, I do too." She opened up her arms, "Come here. I'm waiting for him to call."

Josh smiled. He ran the few steps to the couch and leaped onto Mac.

"Oof," she grunted when he landed on her. She put a bookmark in her book and placed it on the side table. Wrapping an arm around Josh, she hugged him tightly and kissed his head.

After a few minutes of silence, Josh spoke. "It's weird not having him here."

"M-hm," Mac muttered into Josh's hair. She swept Josh's bangs back from his forehead, "It sure is."

The room was cloaked in silence for a while longer. Josh had closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep. The silence was interrupted, however, by the ringing of the telephone.

"Hello?" Mac spoke into the receiver.

"_How's my favorite marine doing?"_ Harm's far-away voice came through the line.

Mac smiled upon hearing him and straightened her position on the couch. Josh woke up and moved towards the other end of the couch.

"Well, we're just fine. How's my sailor doing?"

Harm chuckled, _"Everything is just dandy over here. Anything new over there?"_

"Hmmm. Josh doesn't have school tomorrow."

_"Good for him. I bet he's excited."_

"Yeah. He's going to come to work with me. I think he's looking forward to that too."

"_That should be interesting," _the smile was apparent in Harm's voice.

"It'll be fun, I think."

_"Wish I could be there."_

"Me too," Mac muttered, "I miss you. It's different around work… and home."

_"Aw, I miss you guys too."_

"And it's only Tuesday."

_"The next few days will fly by, you'll see."_

"I hope so."

_"I'll be starting my quals tomorrow, so I may not be able to call,"_ Harm heard Mac groan, _"I'm sorry."_

"That's okay. How's your case coming along?"

"_Slowly but surely."_

"Well, that's good, I guess."

_"Sorry to cut things short, but some of the guys are pestering me for the phone. The phone in the JAG office wasn't working, so I had to use on of the public ones."_

"Aw, okay. Well, I love you."

_"Love you too, babe."_

Josh tugged on Mac's sleeve and reached out for the phone.

"Oh, Josh wants to talk to you," Mac said.

_"He's still awake?"_

"Yep. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later."

_"Yeah. Bye, Mac, Love you,"_ Harm repeated.

"Love you too. Here's Josh," Mac handed the phone to her son.

"Hi Commander," Josh said.

_"Hey buddy, what are you still doing up?"_

"I couldn't sleep."

_"Oh, I see."_

"I really, really miss you Commander," Josh said after a brief hesitation.

Harm chuckled a bit, _"I really, really miss you too, Josh."_

"When are you coming home?"

_"Soon."_

"Good. Hurry up, okay?"

Harm chuckled again, _"Well, I'll do my best. Listen, you take care of your mom for me, okay?"_

"Yes, sir," the boy answered obediently.

_"I gotta go, Josh. If I don't hand over the phone soon, The other sailors might keelhaul me,"_ Harm joked.

"Oh, okay."

_"I'll talk to you later, bud."_

"Okay. Bye."

_"Bye, Josh,"_ and with that the line went dead.

"He hung up," Josh said and handed the phone back to his mother.

Mac took it and put it back in its cradle. She yawned, "Well, I'm tired. What about you?"

Josh nodded.

"Why don't we go put you back in bed?" she stood up from the couch.

Josh nodded and stood up. He took her hand and they headed off to bed.

* * *

_To be continued…_


	26. What He Would Want

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

_A/N: Here's an update, as promised! I've got the rest of this story planned out, so it will probably get wrapped up in the next few chapters or so. Nothing's certain yet, though, we'll see. Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

**0744 Local Time**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Josh followed closely behind Mac through the JAG parking lot. He smiled up at the various marines and sailors they passed. Of course, none of them could resist smiling back at the little boy. Most people who worked in the building knew about Josh, as he had become somewhat of a legend, being the secret son of the esteemed Major Mackenzie, and all. As they walked into the bullpen, they were met with plenty of smiles and excitable greetings.

Mac passed by Bud, who had his nose in a law book.

"Working hard already, Bud?" Mac asked with a smile.

Bud looked up, "Good morning, ma'am." Bud glanced at the book he was holding, "I have a law exam tomorrow. Just trying to cram in studying whenever I can."

"Ah," Mac said as she flipped through the pieces of paper that contained messages for her. It wasn't even 0800 and she already had a mound of phone calls to return.

Josh waited next to her and looked curiously around the JAG office.

"Oh, Hello Josh," Bud said, just noticing him.

"Hi Lieutenant," Josh replied.

"No school today?" Bud asked.

Josh shook his head, "Nope. It's closed."

Bud chuckled, "Lucky you."

Mac smiled, "Yeah, so he's tagging along with me today. He's going to help me out. Aren't you?" Mac looked down at her son who nodded eagerly in response.

Bud smiled, "Just let me know if you need anything, ma'am."

"Thanks, Bud," Mac replied. She and Josh continued their way across the bullpen and into her office. Josh climbed onto one of the chairs in front of Mac's desk. He unzipped the backpack he had with him and pulled out a coloring book and a box of crayons. Mac sat down and smiled at her son in amazement. She knew he would be perfectly happy coloring for quite a while.

-

At 1211, Harriet knocked on Mac's doorframe. Mac looked up and motioned for her to come in. Josh glanced at her as she entered, but quickly turned his attention back to the game of pinball he was playing on Mac's computer.

"I'm going grab a bite of food downstairs, do you and Josh want to come with me?" Harriet asked.

"That sounds great, Harriet, thanks," Mac looked at her son. "Hungry, Josh?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, his attention still on the computer. After a second or two, he quickly exited the program and turned around to face his mother.

Harriet smiled and the group exited Mac's office. After purchasing some food from the cafeteria downstairs, they headed to the outdoor courtyard, not wanting to waste a beautiful day. Josh picked out a table under the shade of one of the large trees.

After everyone had started eating, Mac spoke up, "Wow, Harriet, it seems like forever since the last time we sat down to talk about something not work related."

Harriet nodded as she swallowed a bite of sandwich, "So sorry about that ma'am. Bud and I have just been so busy getting ready for the baby. And law school has been taking up a lot of his time. Not to mention work here at JAG. Everything is just kind of crazy at the moment."

Mac chuckled, "No need to explain. I understand."

"I'm starting to think we'll never get that nursery finished in time," Harriet said.

"It's still not done?" Mac asked, "I would've figured you and Bud the type that have everything done in the first trimester."

Harriet laughed, "I wish. We're cutting it pretty close. We still have to paint the walls, the crib is in fifty pieces in our bedroom, and a million other things."

"Do you need help?" Mac asked. "Josh and I can go over one evening and assist."

Harriet's face brightened, "Really ma'am? That wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"No trouble at all, Harriet. We'd love to help. Just tell us when."

Harriet smiled slyly, "Could you come over tomorrow, maybe?"

Mac chuckled, "Tomorrow sounds great. We've been kind of bored around the house without Harm, anyway. It'll give us something to do."

"How is the Commander doing, ma'am? Have you talked to him?" Harriet asked.

"Talked to him last night. He was going to start his quals today," Mac wrinkled her nose a bit, "Though I kind of wish he wouldn't have told me."

"Makes you worried, ma'am?" Harriet guessed.

Mac shrugged, "It's scary, you know. He's up there, thousands of feet in the air, in a little metal box, and just one wrong move could-" Mac shuddered, "It's just easier not to think about it."

Harriet smiled sympathetically, "He'll be fine, ma'am."

Mac gave a short laugh, "Harmon Rabb and fine are words that are never in the same sentence."

"He's going to be fine, momma. I know so," Josh said.

Mac and Harriet both looked at the boy. Mac smiled, "And how do you know this, Josh?"

Josh shrugged and smiled, "Just do."

Mac nodded, "Ah, I see."

Harriet chuckled and changed the subject to something more cheery, "You're birthday should be coming up soon, huh, Josh?"

Josh smiled widely, "Yep! May 9th. I'll be seven."

Mac sighed, "Growing up so fast." She smiled, and quickly got lost in her thoughts.

"Mother?" a voice broke her concentration.

Mac looked across the table at Josh. She was shaken back into the present moment by hearing Josh call her 'mother' instead of his usual 'momma' or 'mommy.' "Yes, Joshua?" Mac smiled and used his full name.

"Can I have a dog?" Josh asked innocently.

Harriet couldn't keep a loud laugh from escaping her mouth. Mac didn't know what to say, so she just looked at her son with wide eyes.

-

**1804 Local Time**

**Thursday**

**Roberts Residence**

"I've got my work clothes on!" Josh exclaimed to Bud as he and Mac walked into the Roberts's apartment.

"Very nice, Josh," Bud smiled and the other adults chuckled.

"Yeah, momma made me change out of my school uniform," Josh crinkled his brow, as if the idea perplexed him.

Harriet smiled at Mac who was grinning, herself. "Where do you want to start, Harriet?" Mac asked.

"Well, we've got the room taped, and the carpets protected, so it's ready to get some paint. The crib is awaiting construction in our bedroom," Harriet replied, "Since I can't help with the painting-"

"I'll take care of the paint, Harriet," Bud cut in, "You three can work on the crib."

Harriet and Mac nodded in agreement, "Oh, and we have refreshments in the kitchen if anyone wants a snack," Harriet added.

"Cookies?" Josh asked with a sly smile.

Harriet chuckled, "Yep, go grab one."

"We'll be in the back bedroom, come meet us Josh, okay?" Mac told her son as he scampered into the kitchen.

"Okay," came Josh's answer from the other room.

The adults dispersed throughout the house- Bud into the future nursery, Harriet and Mac into the master bedroom.

-

A few minutes later, as Harriet and Mac deciphered the crib instructions, Josh walked into the bedroom with crumbs around his mouth and a juice box in his hand.

"Can I help?" Josh asked.

"Sure, come here and hold this piece up," Mac motioned to the boy. He eagerly went to Mac's side and did as she asked.

After about 15 minutes of working in more or less silence, the crib was almost complete.

"We should probably leave this piece off until we put it in the other room, or else it isn't going to fit through the door," Mac commented.

Harriet looked at the doorway and cocked her head to the side. "Good point, ma'am."

The phone rang on the other side of the house, but soon stopped when Bud picked up the receiver.

"Oh, hello Commander!" Bud's voice could be heard in the other room.

Mac looked up when she heard the word 'commander.'

"I'm good, sir, how are you?" Bud asked into the phone. Harriet and Mac continued to listen in to the only side of the conversation they could hear, "That's good to hear, sir…. Oh?... yes, sir…. She's here, sir, she and Josh are helping with the nursery." Bud's voice got louder as he walked into the bedroom with the phone. "Would you like to speak with her, sir?... yes, sir, you too.," Bud smiled and passed the phone to Mac. "It's Commander Rabb, ma'am."

Mac grinned widely as she took the phone from Bud, "Hey!" she spoke into the receiver.

_"Hey yourself,"_ Harm replied, _"I've been trying to reach you for a while. You weren't at home, or JAG… or my apartment. You had me a little worried there, Mackenzie."_

Mac frowned slightly, "Oh, I'm sorry, honey," Mac apologized, momentarily forgetting her audience. Bud glanced at Harriet who raised her eyebrows at Mac's wording. Though, of course, by now everyone knew of Harm and Mac's relationship, it was still odd to hear their affection out loud.

_"Hey, that's okay,"_ Harm said, _"How is everything?"_

After a few minutes of catching Harm up on the latest developments, or lack thereof, Mac asked, "So when are you coming home, sailor?"

_"It's looking like it'll be Monday or Tuesday."_

"Good. How'd your quals go?"

_"They've been great so far."_

"So far? You mean you haven't finished yet?"

Harm chuckled lightly, _"Night trapping is all that's left."_

Mac groaned loudly.

_"Hey, Mac, it'll be fine."_

"You just hurry up and come home, okay? In one piece, preferably."

_"I will Mac, I promise."_

"So, guess what our favorite little boy is asking for," Mac decided to change the subject. She glanced around the bedroom as she talked. Harriet, Bud, and Josh had since left, leaving Mac alone.

_"A dog?"_ Harm guessed with an amused sounding voice.

Mac's jaw dropped, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

_"That's what every kid wants. That's what I wanted when I was his age."_

"Maybe you're rubbing off on him more than you think."

Harm laughed, _"Hey now, don't act like that's such a bad thing."_

Mac only chuckled in response.

_"So what'd you tell him?"_

"I don't think I told him anything. And that kid is smart too. He just let the subject drop rather than pushing me for a definite answer."

Harm chuckled, _"He knows no answer is better than a negative one."_

"Well," Mac said after a brief pause, "His birthday is coming up. Maybe a dog would be a nice surprise. Would you mind having a dog around?"

_"I like dogs."_

"Well, I'll think about it," Mac said before hearing a loud, shrieking giggle from the nursery that Mac recognized distinctly as a sound her son would make. "Um, hang on a second, Harm. I've got to go make sure the Roberts's nursery is still intact."

_"Uh… okay,"_ Harm replied with a confused chuckle.

Mac walked into the nursery with the phone against her chest. From the doorway, she stared down into the room at Bud and Josh who both had baby blue paint covering their clothes and faces and arms and shoes and hair. They both grinned innocently at her.

"Is everything okay in here-" Harriet asked as she walked to meet Mac. She was struck silent when she saw the mess that was her husband and Josh. "Oh, my."

Josh giggled.

"How… how did this happen?" Mac stumbled over her words.

"He started it, momma, I promise!" Josh wiggled his finger at Bud.

Mac rolled her eyes.

"We had extra paint, ma'am," Bud said, trying his best to hide a grin. "And we both agreed that it would be a shame to waste it." Bud chuckled. "Sorry about his clothes, ma'am. We might have gotten a little carried away."

"A little is right, Bud! You are a like a kid yourself!" Harriet exclaimed.

Bud blushed and bit back a smile.

Mac shook her head and laughed. "Joshua, take your shoes and clothes off, and march to the bathroom, young man. March!"

Josh nodded and did as he was told.

"I _am _sorry ma'am. But, it was _so_ much fun!" Bud smiled widely.

Mac raised up her hands, "I don't even care, Bud," she chuckled, "I'd worry more about Harriet's wrath, if I were you." Mac threw a glance at the other woman, who had an expression of mixed shock, anger, and amazement.

Bud's eyes got large, and Mac left them alone to meet Josh in the bathroom. She picked the phone back up to her ear. Harm was singing to himself.

Mac chuckled, "Didn't know you were the singer, Harm."

_"Well, I had to make my own hold music, because you didn't give me any,"_ Harm teased before hesitantly adding, _"So, um, is everything okay?"_

Mac sighed, "Oh yeah, it just looks like I'll be doing laundry tonight."

-

**2054 Local Time**

**Thursday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Mac smiled as she pulled the bed quilt over Josh and placed a kiss on his forehead. Josh twisted his head to the side and looked at the framed picture of his father that was on the nightstand. He remembered the night that his mother had put it there…

---Flashback---

_Mac awoke with a start when she heard Josh's muffled cries from his room. She quickly got out of bed and hurried to Josh's room._

_"Josh?" she asked once she was in the room. Her son was curled into a ball in the corner of his bed. "Baby, what's wrong?" She sat down on his bed and pulled him onto her lap._

_"The, the monsters, they were coming, and I couldn't stop 'em. I couldn't stop 'em," Josh mumbled in between sobs._

_"Shhh," Mac cooed, "It was just a nightmare, baby. It's over, I'm here."_

_"But it was scary, and they were chasing, and they wouldn't stop."_

_"I know it was scary baby, but it's over. I've got you now, you're safe." Mac rocked him gently until he calmed down._

_"What if they come back?" Josh sniffled._

_"They won't, hon, they're just nightmares."_

_"But what if they do?"_

_Mac thought for a moment, "I know something that'll help. I'll be right back, okay?"_

_Josh nodded silently. Mac stood up and quickly went to her room. She dug in her closet until she found an old box that was splitting on the edges. Spilling half the contents on the floor, she located what she was looking for. She grabbed it and went back to meet Josh. He was still in a ball on his bed. She switched the lamp next to his bed on, handed Josh a picture frame, and sat next to him on the bed._

_Josh carefully studied the picture of a man with a wide smile that looked an awful lot like himself. "That's daddy, right?" Josh asked quietly._

_"M-hm," Mac replied, "He'll watch over you and keep all the monsters away."_

_Josh attempted a smile, "All the monsters?"_

_"All of them. He's up in heaven, looking down on you. Making sure you're safe."Mac smiled at her son. She carefully placed the picture on Josh's nightstand. "Think you can sleep now?"_

_Josh smiled and nodded._

---End Flashback---

… Josh never dreamed about those terrible monsters again. He looked up at his mother, "Momma?"

"Yeah, hon?" Mac asked as she brushed his bangs back.

"You said my daddy died before I was born," Josh said with a half-questioning tone.

Mac swallowed hard and knelt down next to his bed. She had no idea where this conversation was going to lead, but she nodded. "That's right, baby," she replied gently.

"And you said that he loved me even though he hadn't even met me yet," Josh continued.

Mac nodded again and tried to ignore the lump that was forming in the back of her throat, "He loved you so much, Josh. More than you could know."

Josh furrowed his brow, "Well, would he be mad if Commander Rabb was my daddy too? Not to replace him, but just- "

"I know what you mean," Mac stopped him with a smile. She felt her insides warming at the thought of it all. She shook her head, "No, baby, he wouldn't be mad at all. He'd be happy. Very happy."

"How do you know?"

Mac couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's incessant questions, "I know because we had a conversation one day…"

---Flashback---

_Mac giggled and leaned into Michael as they walked down the curvy park path. "That was fun," she said lightheartedly._

_"It was fun," Michael agreed. "Did baby like it?" he stopped and touched her belly gently. At the time, she was only three and a half months pregnant, but Michael was already in love._

_Mac nodded with a grin, "I think baby did."_

_Michael changed his gaze from her belly to her face. He stroked her cheek, and his expression became more serious._

_Mac cocked her head to the side, "Mike? What's wrong?"_

_"I just want you to promise me something, Sarah," he replied._

_Mac bobbed her head to tell him to continue._

_"If anything ever happens to me, I want you to go on in life. I want our baby to have a father, and I want someone for you to share this with."_

_A tear pricked at Mac's eye. She shook her head, "Don't talk like that Michael. You aren't going anywhere."_

_"Sarah, please. It's important to me."_

_Mac looked down at the ground before nodding, "Only if you promise to do the same."_

_Mike nodded and gave her a gentle kiss. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Mac pulled him along down the path again._

_"Come on, I want some ice cream," Mac tugged his arm. Michael chuckled and followed behind her._

---End Flashback---

"So he would want me to have another daddy?" Josh asked.

Mac nodded, "More than anything, baby."

Josh finally seemed satisfied, "Okay."

Mac smiled and gave Josh another kiss on the forehead. "It's time for sleep now. I let you stay up way past your bedtime. You have school tomorrow."

Josh nodded in response.

"I love you, baby."

"Love you too momma," Josh replied sleepily.

As Mac switched off the lamp, she looked at the picture of Michael. _It's what he would want_, she thought to herself. She smiled as she walked to her room and climbed into bed. The moon shone through her window and illuminated the picture of Harm that was on her own nightstand. She stared at his picture and drifted off to sleep, with the feeling that things were right.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_


	27. No Place Like Home

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers._

_A/N: And here we go, another chapter. I want to thank all my readers and reviewers. Seriously guys, some of the reviews I get make my day, so thanks!! By the way, this chapter was supposed to be posted yesterday, but the website was being all silly, so it's getting posted today instead. On the flip side, I have a whole 'nother chapter written ahead, which if like the first time that's ever happened. So expect another update in a few days.  
_

* * *

**1407 Local Time**

**Tuesday**

**JAG Headquarters**

Mac was scribbling down some notes on a legal pad when she heard a knock on her doorframe.

"Honey, I'm home," came a familiar voice.

She quickly looked up from her work and leaped to her feet when she saw Harm standing in the entrance to her door. "Harm!" she squeaked. Forgetting that they were at work, she rushed over to him, wrapped him in a hug, and placed a few well-earned kisses on his cheek. After calming down a bit, and realizing her surroundings, she stepped back and looked up at his face. "You didn't tell me you were coming home today!"

Harm smiled his best smile, "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you did!" Mac exclaimed and hugged him again. "I missed you so much. I'm so happy!" Mac was grinning from ear to ear.

"Aren't we all," the admiral's more serious voice interrupted their reunion.

"Sir," Harm said, as both he and Mac straightened their postures.

"Welcome home, Commander," the admiral said, ignoring the wonderful shade of red his senior attorneys were turning.

"Thank you, sir," Harm replied.

The admiral slightly rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of defeat when he saw the beaming smile that was still plastered on Mac's face. "Well, I suppose since I totally blew your weekend plans, and neither of you got into too much trouble this past week, and the current case load is light, I can give you two the afternoon off."

"Really, sir?" Harm asked, not attempting to hide his surprise.

The man gave a quick nod. "Yes, Commander. Just… behave. At least until you get out of my sight," he worded, with some difficulty.

Harm smiled, "Aye, sir."

"Thank you, sir," Mac added.

"Yeah, yeah," the admiral muttered before walking away.

"Let me get my stuff, then we'll go," Mac said. Harm nodded in response. She quickly put some things away that were on her desk, logged off her computer, and snatched her cover and briefcase from behind her desk. They walked through the bullpen together. Harriet wiggled her eyebrows at Mac, causing Mac to blush and chuckle at the same time.

As soon as the elevator doors closed on Harm and Mac, they looked at each other and shared a passionate kiss.

"What do you want to do first?" Harm asked, once their lips parted.

"Oh, there's lots and lots I _want_ to do…" Mac said with a dark smile and mischievous eyes.

Harm chuckled."I have an idea," he said as he opened the front door of the building for her.

"Oh?," Mac questioned, "What's that?"

"Well I was thinking, since Josh is about to get out of school, we could go pick him up a few minutes early."

Mac smiled, "I like that idea a lot. Josh would be so happy."

"I think so. And, you know, I've missed the little squirt," Harm admitted.

"Aw, Harm. That makes _me_ happy," Mac replied with a soft expression. He just smiled. She leaned into him as they walked across the parking lot. Harm snaked an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head, making no attempt to hide his affection from anyone who may have been watching… like the admiral, for instance, who, unbeknownst to them, was watching from the window in his office. He shook his head and sighed. "I said out of my sight, Rabb," he muttered to himself. Despite his best efforts, a smile crept across the older man's face. He chuckled. At least they figured things out… finally.

-

"Josh's teacher will be sending him our way. You can wait in here or out in the hall," the receptionist at the school informed Mac with a smile.

"Thank you," Mac replied. She and Harm decided to go outside the office and wait for him. Since school hadn't officially dismissed yet, Josh had to be checked out at the front desk.

Four minutes later, Josh rounded the corner of the hallway.

"Momma!" Josh called to Mac when he saw her. His eyes got larger, however, when he saw Harm next to her.

"Daddy!" Josh exclaimed and ran to meet him.

Harm turned to Mac with a surprised expression and furrowed brow. He mouthed, 'daddy?' to Mac, who just responded with a smile, as if she was expecting it. He was kept from further thought into the matter when Josh plowed into him.

"Hey, Josh!" Harm swept the boy up into his arms. "I missed you so much, buddy!"

"I missed you too! It was kind of lonely without you. We got kinda bored, but we helped at the Roberts's house, and we cooked a lot. But, I think we had pizza a couple nights too… momma says that I'm gunna turn into a pizza, but I really like pizza, so I don't know if I would mind too much," the little boy rambled on excitedly as Harm carried him out the building. Mac trailed closely behind, chuckling to herself.

-

After making a quick pass at Harm's apartment to drop his belongings off and check up on things, they arrived back at Mac's. Josh was still chattering happily to Harm as Mac unlocked the door and they entered the apartment.

"But anyway, I don't really know if what he said was true, because it seems a little odd to me, but-" Josh's idle rambling was cut short by Mac.

"Hey, Josh, why don't you go change out of your uniform and let Harm relax for a little while, okay?"

Josh nodded, "Okay. I'll go play with that new lego set that you got me this weekend."

"That sounds like a good idea, hon," Mac smiled as Josh scampered down the hall towards his room.

She plopped down on the couch next to where Harm was already sitting. He seemed deep in thought. She eyed him curiously, thought about saying something, but decided to just leave him to his thoughts. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.

"I like it," He said out of the blue a few minutes later.

Mac straightened herself again and looked him in the eyes. "Like what?"

He changed his gaze from straight ahead to look at her. "I like that Josh called me daddy," he replied.

Mac smiled and hugged him. "I like it too," she replied.

"But, where did it come from?" Harm asked.

"We talked the other night. Josh wasn't sure how his dad would feel if you became his _new _daddy," Mac explained. After a short moment, she continued, "But I told him that Michael would be happy about it. That it's what he would have wanted."

After Harm didn't reply, Mac asked hesitantly, "You're okay with it, aren't you?"

Harm seemed surprised that she would think otherwise, "What? Of course I am, Mac. I like it… a lot."

Mac buried her head in the crook of his neck and chuckled. "Good," she said as she placed a couple of kisses on his jaw line.

Harm smiled and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Harm sighed happily, "I missed you."

"Mmm, me too," Mac muttered, "We should go eat out someplace nice for dinner."

"You have a one-track mind, marine," Harm teased.

Mac looked at him with an open mouthed smile and playfully smacked him on the arm.

Harm rubbed the place where she slapped him, "Hey, that hurt," he chuckled.

She shrugged. "That's what you get," she said before leaning back down onto his shoulder.

Harm grumbled an inaudible protest and moved to lie down on the couch, closing his eyes as he stretched out.

Mac frowned a little and rubbed his leg, "Hey, how much sleep did you get over there, sailor?"

"Not enough," He replied quietly with his eyes still closed, "Between the case and quals and missing you and Josh, there wasn't much time."

"Aw, I'm sorry, hon," Mac said sympathetically.

Harm opened one eye to look at her, "It isn't your fault." He reached out with his arms, "Come here."

She smiled and let him pull her on top of his chest. Snuggled up next to each other, they quickly fell asleep.

-

Forty-one minutes later, Mac woke up and managed to hoist herself off of Harm without waking him. Once she was standing up, she attempted to rub a crick out of her neck as she walked to her room to change out of her now-wrinkled uniform. She stopped by Josh's room on the way to see what he was up to. She smiled when she saw that he had also fallen asleep on the floor next to an open box of legos. All of the excitement must have worn him out. Walking quietly into his room, she contemplated moving him to his bed, but instead decided to just place a blanket over him, not wanting to wake him up.

A few minutes later, as she was brushing out her hair, Harm wandered into her bedroom. She caught sight of him in the mirror, and chuckled at his messy hair as she turned around. "You so cute," She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"How long have I been out?" He asked with a yawn.

"Fifty-two minutes, thirty-three seconds," Mac answered without hesitation.

"What has Josh been up to?"

"He's sleepin' too." Mac replied as she turned back to the bathroom mirror.

Harm nodded in acknowledgement and sat down on the edge of her bed. "So where did you want to go eat tonight?" he asked.

"Your pick," Mac turned around and walked towards him with a smile. She sat on his lap and kissed his neck. "After all, it is _your_ homecoming we are celebrating."

"Mmm," Harm muttered in reaction to the kisses that Mac was still carefully placing along his jawbone, "Well, I don't really care."

Mac kissed him again, "Well, neither do I."

"And we can't ask Josh, he'll just want pizza."

Mac chuckled and pushed Harm backwards onto the bed, "This is true."

Harm snaked his hands underneath Mac's shirt and ran his fingers along the skin of her back. "Guess we'll just have to play it by ear then," He said before he was silenced by Mac's lips. The kiss, like a lot of their other kisses, soon took a life of its own, and was only interrupted by a timid knock on the door, which Harm had, thankfully, closed.

"Momma?" Josh asked quietly from the other side, "You in there?"

With closed eyes, Mac sighed and put her forehead against Harm's. After a reluctant moment, Mac answered, "Yeah, Josh, I'm here." She rolled herself off of Harm and they both sat up on the edge of the bed. "You can come in," she said, and as the door opened, she asked, "What do you need, hon?"

The boy shrugged, "Well, I was mostly just wonderin' where you were. But, I'm kinda hungry too."

"We aren't going to eat dinner until later, but I can get you a snack," Mac said.

Josh nodded, "Okay."

Mac smiled and stood up. "What do you want?" she asked and ruffled the boy's hair as she passed by him.

"Um, an apple I guess, maybe with some peanut butter," Josh replied to his mother who was already out of the room. He looked across the room at Harm. "Are you coming?"

"I'll come meet you two in a little bit, Josh, I want to get into some more comfortable clothes first," Harm said with a smile and looked down at the uniform he was still wearing.

Josh bobbed his head and scampered out of the room. Not two seconds later, the boy ran back into the room and leaped onto Harm, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, and wrapped his arms around Harm's neck. "I'm glad you're home, daddy."

Harm hugged Josh tightly, "Oh, buddy, I'm glad I'm home too. I missed you. You know, I had a picture of you and your mom taped to the wall next to my bed."

"You did?" Josh asked with the cutest little boy smile.

"Uh-huh," Harm nodded, "And a bunch of sailors were asking me about you. They were telling me how cute you are." Harm was soon lost in his thoughts, remembering one night aboard ship when he was helping out an old friend…

---Flashback---

_Commander Ryan Noble paced around the small room as he waited for Harm to finish filling out a form. He stopped when he saw the picture of a woman and a little boy taped to the wall of Harm's rack. He leaned in for a closer look. Their happy expressions made him smile too. "Hey, Harm, who's this?" he asked with a short chuckle and a light tap on the picture, "You didn't have a kid since the last time we talked, did you?"_

_Harm looked up and smiled when he saw what the man was asking about. "No, no, that's my girlfriend and her son," Harm clarified, still thinking 'girlfriend' was too common of a word to describe he and Mac's relationship. _

"_The little boy is very cute. Though, he doesn't look much like his mom," Commander Noble said before cocking his head to the side and amending his statement, "Well, except for the eyes. Their eyes are identical."_

_Harm chuckled, "He's a special kid, that one."_

"_What are their names?"the Commander asked, "And is that a marine uniform I see?"_

"_Yep, she's a major. Major Sarah Mackenzie, though I expect she'll get promoted any day now," Harm replied with a hint of pride, " The boy is Joshua," Harm paused to smile, "I love them both very much… God, I love them," he tagged on the end for good measure._

"_Good for you, buddy," Commander Noble said and gave Harm a good natured pat on the shoulder. _

_Harm chuckled, "Thanks."_

"_Now, listen to me, Rabb, you better not let that one go, you hear?"_

_Harm smiled, "I have no intentions to." Both men casually laughed and Harm turned his attention back to the task at hand._

---End Flashback---

Harm's thought were interrupted when Josh said, "Boys aren't called _cute_, daddy, girls are called cute. Boys are supposed to be _handsome_."

Harm couldn't help but chuckle, "Excuse me, Josh, what I meant to say was that everyone thought you were very _handsome_," Harm revised his earlier statement.

Josh nodded sharply, "That's better."

"Josh," Mac called from the other side of the house, "I got your apple. You better come eat it before I do."

Harm softly patted Josh's back. "Better go. Knowing your mother, she's probably serious," he said with a laugh.

Josh smiled, leaped off of Harm's lap, and ran out the room.

Harm chuckled to himself as he watched the little boy leave. He had to admit, it caught him off guard when he realized how much he missed Josh while he was gone, and he was also surprised at how happy it made him feel to hear the boy call him 'daddy.' He never wanted to lose that feeling, just as he never wanted to lose Mac and Josh. His future wasn't much of a future without them. He wanted a life with them. He knew what he had to do to make that happen, and he knew soon he would have to have a very important conversation with Mac involving a very important question. He just didn't know how. He took a deep breath and tried, unsuccessfully, of course, not to worry. He scratched his head as he walked to the bathroom. He'd figure things out… somehow.

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_To be Continued…_


	28. I Think You Know It Too

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers. _

_A/N: Okay, so this is kind of a fluff chapter… kinda, maybe not. I don't know. It is what it is. But anyway, I had fun writing it. Thanks again to all that read and take the time to review! I love your comments! Enjoy…_

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**0103 Local Time**

**One Week Later – Wednesday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Mac awoke from a pleasant sleep when she heard a light scuffle sound by the bedroom door. She rolled away from where she was laying comfortably against Harm and peered into the darkness to see what was causing the noise. Josh was standing silently in the doorway.

"Josh?" Mac asked and propped herself up on an elbow, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I don't feel good," the boy answered quietly.

When she heard this, Mac immediately swung her legs off of the bed and walked the short distance to him. Kneeling in front of him, she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "You're burning up, baby," she said.

"Mac?" Harm asked groggily, "What's going on?"

"Josh is sick," Mac replied as she ushered the boy into her bathroom.

Harm turned on the lamp on his side of his bed and got up. He walked to the bathroom as he pulled an undershirt over his head.

Josh sat on the lid of the toilet as Mac dug around in the cabinets for a thermometer.

Harm crouched down next to Josh, "What's wrong, buddy?"

Josh only shrugged.

Harm frowned and looked up at Mac who had finally located a thermometer. She rinsed it under some water and slipped it into Josh's mouth. "Keep it under your tongue, hon."

As they waited for the thermometer to beep, Mac swept back Josh's bangs and kissed his forehead. Josh struggled to keep the thermometer in his mouth as he let out a nasty sounding cough.

"That doesn't sound too good," Harm said just as the thermometer beeped.

Mac pulled it out and looked at it. "102.5," she read off. "Harm, can you find the children's Advil for me?"

"Sure, sure," he said and stood up.

As Harm dug around for the medicine, Mac unbuttoned Josh's long sleeved pajama top and slipped it off.

"Found it," Harm said.

"Good, measure some out."

Harm studied the label and carefully measured the correct dosage before passing the medicine cup down to Mac.

"Can you drink this for me, hon?" Mac asked as she held the cup up to Josh's mouth.

He nodded and swallowed the thick liquid, grimacing when the taste hit him.

"I'll call Bethesda in the morning and make him an appointment," Mac said to Harm, who nodded in response. "Josh, do you want to try to go back to bed?"

The boy shrugged.

Mac frowned, "Want to go in the living room? You can lie down on the couch."

The boy nodded a little, and they all three walked to the other side of the house. Mac helped Josh climb onto the sofa before sitting down next to him. Josh squirmed up towards her to rest his head in her lap. Mac smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, brushing it back, in an attempt to comfort him. She looked across the coffee table at Harm who was sitting in another chair. He frowned, feeling sorry for the little boy. Twenty long minutes later, after the medicine had started to kick in, Josh had settled back into a light sleep.

Mac remembered something. "Aw, crap," she muttered.

Harm lifted his head from where it was rested on the chair to look at her, "What's wrong?"

"I have court at 0930, so I can't take off, and unless I can get an appointment very early in the morning, I won't be able to bring him to the doctor."

Harm thought for a moment, "That's okay, Mac. I'll take the morning off and bring him to Bethesda, and we can switch when you are finished in court."

"You sure, Harm?"

"Absolutely," he replied. "But, you should really get some rest if you have to battle it out in the courtroom tomorrow," he added with a light chuckle, "I'll stay up with him. You go back to bed."

Mac looked down at her son, uncertain.

"Go to bed, marine, that's an order," Harm said.

"You're not senior, you can't order me around," Mac teased back.

"Watch me."

Mac groaned, but gave in, "Fine, but wake me up if he needs anything, or if he gets worse, or if he asks for me."

"Don't worry, just go to bed," Harm said as he stood up and crossed the room.

Mac nodded and gently slid out from under Josh's head. Harm kissed her cheek before he sat down next to Josh. Mac hesitated and looked down at her son.

"Go," Harm told her and pointed towards the bedroom.

Mac scrunched her nose at him before reluctantly heading back to bed. As soon as he was sure she was actually gone, Harm settled himself into a more comfortable position on the couch in preparation for the long hours ahead.

-

Mac awoke at 0545 and heard the television on in the living room. Wrapping a robe around herself, she walked to the other side of the house. Entering the living room, she saw Josh sitting next to Harm who was sprawled out on the sofa asleep. The television volume was on low and Josh was watching cartoons.

"Good morning, sweetie, how are you feeling?" Mac asked as she felt Josh's forehead again, "You don't feel quite as hot."

"Little better," Josh muttered.

"Little better?" Mac repeated and cocked her head to the side.

Josh nodded.  
Mac looked at Harm, "How long as he been asleep?"

"A while," the boy answered quietly.

"What about you? How long have you been awake?"

Josh shrugged.

Mac frowned. She could tell that he still wasn't feeling very well. After quickly returning to her bathroom to retrieve the thermometer, she took his temperature again. Glancing at it after a few minutes, she said, "Well, your fever went down a little. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Not hungry," Josh answered.

"Why don't you at least drink something?"

Josh nodded, "Okay. Milk. "

Mac ushered him into the kitchen and poured him a glass of milk as he sat down at the table. After placing it in front of him, she turned on the coffee pot to make some coffee. A few minutes later, Harm wandered in.

"Hey, I didn't hear you get up," he said with a yawn.

"That's okay," Mac replied as Harm kissed her cheek.

"How's Josh doing?" Harm asked and bobbed his head towards the boy who was slowly drinking his milk.

"Still not the best. His fever went down slightly, but he's still feeling pretty crummy," Mac said as she got a coffee mug from the cabinet and filled it with the steaming brew she had just made. "Sure you don't want anything to eat, Josh?" Mac asked as she prepared herself a bowl of cereal.

"I'm sure," Josh replied quietly before coughing.

Mac sighed and sat across from him at the table with her cereal. Harm soon joined them once he had retrieved the newspaper and gotten himself a cup of coffee. They sat in silence except for the noise Harm made when he turned the pages of the paper and the metallic clangs Mac's spoon made against the edge of the cereal bowl.

Josh pushed his now-empty glass of milk away from him.

"Want some more milk, Josh?" Mac asked, to which the boy shook his head no.

Mac wished he would feel better. She hated seeing him like this. She pushed her chair back from the table and placed her dirty dishes in the sink. Walking back to Josh, she kissed the top of his head, "Need anything before I go get dressed, hon?"

The boy shook his head.

"Okay," Mac said with a quiet sigh, "I'm going to go get ready, then I'll call Bethesda and make an appointment," she said to Harm. He smiled and nodded and took another sip of coffee.

Twenty-five minutes later, Mac returned. Josh was curled up on the couch watching cartoons, and Harm was still at the table. Mac picked up the phone in the kitchen and quickly dialed Josh's pediatrician at Bethesda's number. Knowing it was still early yet, she prayed someone answered the phone. Once someone did, she spoke into the receiver, "Hi, yes, I need to make an appointment with Dr. Ward… Major Sarah Mackenzie… yes ma'am, the dependent is Joshua Philips… as early as possible would be best… 0925?... that's the earliest?... I understand, ma'am… that's good, yes ma'am… thank you." And with that she hung up.

Harm looked up. "0925?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's the earliest I could get. They were booked the rest of the morning."

"That's fine. I'll bring him," Harm said with a smile, "Will you let the admiral know I'll be getting there late?"

"Yep," Mac said as she gathered the things she needed for work from various places in the kitchen and living room. She sat next to Josh on the couch, hugged him, and placed a couple kisses on his forehead. "Mmm," she muttered upon feeling the temperature of his head, "You're still warm."

Josh nodded and coughed.

"You need anything, Josh? Before I go to work?"

The boy shook his head no.

"Well, if you do, let Harm know, okay? And he'll get it for you, or he'll call me."

Josh nodded.

"You have an appointment with a doctor at 0925. Harm's going to bring you."

Josh groaned. He hated the doctor.

Mac chuckled, "I know you don't like the doctor," she said, "Here, take Gregor with you," she picked up the stuffed goat that was next to her on the couch and gave it to Josh.

He smiled and took it from her. He'd had Gregor the Goat since he was a baby. Josh's father had bought the goat when he found out Mac was pregnant, and it was Josh's favorite stuffed animal. It used to follow him everywhere, but in the last year or so, Gregor only made an appearance when he was needed, like now. Gregor had quite a few battle scars. His fur was stained and matted down, he had one button-eye, and he had multiple stitch marks from where he was repaired by either Josh's grandmother or Mac. Still though, he was very much beloved.

Mac kissed Josh once more before standing up. Harm had since left the kitchen and was standing near the couch with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'll call you when I get out of court, and you can drop him off with me at JAG when you come," Mac looked up at Harm.

"Sounds good," he said with a smile.

"Make sure he gets lots of fluids. Try to get him to eat something. Macaroni and Cheese usually lifts his spirits," Mac glanced around the room, trying to remember if there was anything else she needed to tell Harm before she left, "And if you really need me, call the admiral so he can get me out of court."

"It'll be fine, Mac," Harm assured her.

Mac sighed. She nodded quickly and grabbed her briefcase. "Bye, baby, I'll see you soon," Mac leant down and gave Josh a kiss on top of the head. "Love you."

"Love you too, momma," the boy replied with a sniffle of his nose.

Mac smiled sympathetically before turning her attention back to Harm.

He lowered his head and captured her lips with hers. Mac melted into the kiss. "And I love you," she said with a smile.

He grinned and gave her another quick kiss. "Love you too. Good luck in court," he said as he walked her to the door.

She gave a quick chuckle, "Yeah, thanks. Take care of Josh for me."

"I will, Mac, promise." Harm replied in a soft, serious tone.

Mac smiled, "I know." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Bye."

"Bye," Harm said and watched her walk down the hall.

He turned back into the apartment and closed the door. "Well, Josh, looks like it's just you and me, kid."

-

Mac walked into the bullpen with a million things on her mind, because, despite her best efforts, she was still worrying about Josh. After quickly dropping her things off in her office, and returning a few 'hellos,' she walked across the JAG office to the admiral's office. "Tiner," she said upon seeing the petty officer behind his desk.

"Oh, good morning, ma'am. It's a beautiful day, isn't it, ma'am?" Tiner said cheerily, too cheerily.

Mac furrowed her brow, but brushed his comment off, "Uh, yeah, sure, Tiner. Look, I need to see the admiral ASAP."

"Yes, ma'am. He just got in, I'll let him know," the young man said before buzzing the admiral. "You can go right in, ma'am," the petty officer said with a bright smile.

"Thanks Tiner," Mac said before entering her CO's office.

"Morning, Major, what can I do for you?" the admiral asked from behind his desk.

"Good morning, sir. Two things actua-" Mac was cut off by the admiral.

"You okay, Mac? You look a little… rough."

Mac blushed and pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. "I'm fine, sir. I had a long night, which is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Josh is sick with some kind of virus or cold or something."

"Oh no. Poor kid," the admiral said.

"Yes, sir," Mac continued, "Well anyway, I have court at 0930, so the Commander is staying with him and bringing him to the doctor. So he'll be late coming into work today."

The admiral leaned back in his chair, "Oh, okay."

"And I was hoping to have the afternoon off after I get out of court, so the Commander can come in for a few hours."

"Well, that sounds fine, Mac. Whatever you need. Did you need to get out of court today?"

Mac shook her head, "No, sir. We've got everything worked out."

Nodding his head, the admiral replied, "Okay. Well, it sounds like you've got things under control. Hope Josh gets well soon; let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir," Mac said.

"No problem, Mac," the admiral said with a smile.

Mac smiled back and left his office to get some work done before she was due in court.

-

**1253 Local Time**

**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, Virginia**

Harm walked into the bullpen carrying Josh, who was asleep on his shoulder. One of Josh's hands was holding Gregor the goat, and the other had a death grip on Harm's shirt. Harm looked around for Mac. She had called about 45 minutes earlier during a brief recess to tell him she would be done shortly, so he figured she might not have gotten out yet.

Harriet walked up to Harm with a small frown, "Aw, I heard he was sick. How's he doing?"

"A bit better, but he's been feeling pretty crummy," Harm replied.

"Poor angel," Harriet murmured and looked softly at Josh, who was still sound asleep.

The admiral wandered up to meet them. "You look like hell, Commander," he said when he saw the bags under Harm's eyes.

"I was up most of the night, sir, with Mac and Josh."

"I understand how that is," the admiral replied. The admiral cocked an eyebrow when he saw the stuffed goat Josh was holding. "Commander, is there a reason that goat has a band aid on its leg?"

Harm looked down at the stuffed animal. "That's Gregor the goat, sir," Harm replied with a serious face, "He had an owie."

"An owie?" The admiral furrowed his brow.

Harm nodded, "Yes, sir." Harm smiled at his CO and lightly patted Josh's back.

The admiral chuckled, despite his efforts not to, and glanced at his watch, "I suspect the Major will be getting out of court anytime now."

"She should be, sir."

As soon as he said it, Mac walked into the bullpen from the direction of the courtroom. They all turned to look at her. She smiled. Putting her briefcase on the floor next to her, she cocked her head to the side and rubbed Josh's back. "How's he doing?"

"I think his fever is starting to break, finally, and he's been sleeping pretty much nonstop since we left the doctor's," Harm answered.

"So what did the doctor have to say?" Mac asked.

"Just a little virus. Probably picked it up from school. He wrote a prescription for antibiotics just in case. I dropped it off at the pharmacy on the way here. So you'll need to pick it up." Seeing Mac nod, Harm added, "He's supposed to get the first dose with dinner."

"Sounds good," Mac replied, "Have you gotten him to eat anything?"

Harm nodded, "About 10ish, I made him mac n' cheese for lunch, like you said. He ate most of it. And I've had him drink lots of fluids all day."

"Good, good," Mac murmured, "Let me get all my stuff together, and I'll take him off your hands."

Harm nodded, "Take your time."

As she did that, Harriet and the admiral continued to watch the little boy sleep on Harm's shoulder. Although she wished it was under better circumstances, Harriet thought it was one of the cutest things she'd ever seen. It even melted the admiral's hard exterior.

Mac soon returned with her cover, keys, and some files she wanted to bring home to work on.

"I can help bring your stuff down, ma'am," Harriet offered with a smiled. She reached out her hands to take Mac's belongings.

"Thanks Harriet," Mac replied and passed her things to Harriet. "And I'll take him," Mac held out her arms to indicate she wanted Josh.

Harm smiled and pried the boy from his chest and carefully passed him to Mac. Once Josh was settled on her hip, Mac kissed her son's head, looked up at Harm, and said, "I'll see you tonight. Thanks for doing this, hon-" Mac quickly shook her head and corrected herself, "Harm."

The admiral rolled his eyes and looked elsewhere, trying to ignore the interactions between his two best attorneys.

"No problem, Mac," Harm said with a smile, "See you later."

Because they were in front of their CO at work, they both fought the urge to kiss goodbye like they normally would. The ringing of Harm's office phone interrupted them, anyway. "Bye," he said quickly before dashing to his office.

Mac smiled after him, but didn't get a chance to otherwise reply.

Josh lifted his head off of his mother's shoulder and looked around, trying to get his bearings. "Where'd daddy go?" he asked with a rough voice.

"Daddy had to go to work, sweetheart, I'm going to take you home."

Josh nodded and placed his head back on Mac's shoulder.

Harriet almost fainted when she heard Josh call Harm 'daddy.' Mac also couldn't help but notice the look of surprise on Admiral Chegwidden's face. The admiral shook his surprise off, "Major, if you need to take tomorrow off, feel free to."

"Thank you, sir," Mac replied.

"You and the Commander try to get some rest, will you? I don't like seeing you two so… worn out looking. It just doesn't seem right."

Mac chuckled, "Aye, sir." She looked at Harriet.

"Ready to go, ma'am?" the woman asked.

Mac nodded and they walked through the bullpen. "Thanks again for carrying my stuff down, Harriet. You didn't have to, though."

"It's no trouble at all, ma'am," she chuckled, "You kind of have your hands full."

Mac smiled, "Yeah, I suppose I do."

As they waited in the elevator, Harriet asked, "So when did this 'daddy' thing start, ma'am? If you don't mind me asking."

"When Harm came back from the Seahawk."

"That's just _so _great," Harriet beamed.

Mac rested her cheek on Josh's head and smiled, "I think so."

"So I guess that means you two are serious now, huh? Set in stone?"

Mac laughed, "Nothing is ever set in stone, Harriet."

"Aw, come on, ma'am. Y'all have been practically living together, for what? Over a month now."

Mac didn't reply.

"You can't pretend no one knows, ma'am," Harriet said with a chuckle.

"We're not pretending anything, Harriet!" Mac laughed.

"And I see how you two interact with each other," Harriet continued. She was an unstoppable force.

"And how's that, Harriet?"

Harriet swooned, "You are _so _in love, ma'am."

"Trust me, you need a little more than love to make things work."

"Well, whatever you need, you've got it, ma'am."

Mac didn't reply again.

"And Commander Rabb just _adores_ Josh. It's so sweet."

"Okay, I agree with you there. I think it's adorable too," Mac chuckled.

"He's going to pop the question, ma'am," Harriet said, sure of herself, "You know it as well as I do. It's just a matter of when and where and how."

* * *

_To be Continued…_


	29. Yes

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers. _

_A/N: Well, here you go guys. I do believe this is the chapter many of you have been waiting for. :D And as always, I thank all of my readers for your continued support and encouragement. Enjoy._

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**1233 Local Time**

**Monday**

**JAG Courtyard**

Harm and Bud were sitting at one of the outside tables at JAG eating lunch and talking about various things. Mac was in Quantico to gather information on a new case and Harriet was busy assisting the admiral, so both Harm and Bud were left without anyone to eat lunch with.

"So, how's Josh doing, sir?" Bud asked before taking a bite of the ham and cheese sandwich Harriet had made him.

"Oh, he's fine. He got over that bug and went back to school on Friday," Harm replied.

"That's good. Harriet said he looked pretty pitiful."

Harm nodded, "He was feeling pretty pitiful too."

Bud frowned.

"We're getting him a dog for his birthday," Harm smiled.

"You are?" Bud asked with a grin. "That's great, sir. I think he'll really like that."

Harm chuckled, "Yeah. An older dog, though. Mac doesn't want to deal with a puppy. So, we are going to the pound sometime during the next couple of weeks to look."

"That's nice, sir. Sometimes those older dogs have trouble finding a home."

Harm nodded and took a sip of water. The two officers fell silent for a while. Harm looked down at his salad and pushed a piece of lettuce around on his plate. "How'd you do it, Bud?" Harm asked after a while.

Bud frowned in his confusion and lowered his head, "Do what, sir?"

Harm kept his gaze down on his lunch, "How did you… how did you propose?" he asked, after getting up some nerve.

Bud raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, sir, I just asked her… I think."

"You think?"

"It's kind of foggy, sir, I was so nervous. But… I think I just pulled out the ring and asked," Bud furrowed his brow, "Though, things didn't quite go as smoothly as I hoped. I mean, the ring wasn't in the box, It.. it was in my pocket, full of lint. Harriet didn't care though," Bud smiled, "She was so happy."

Harm nodded, but still looked worried.

"Sir," Bud asked, with a deviously happy expression, "If you don't mind my asking, are you going to propose to Major Mackenzie?"

Harm's ears turned red and he nodded quickly.

Bud grinned from ear to ear, "That's wonderful, sir!"

Harm fidgeted and scratched the back of his neck, "I just don't know how, you know… like should I go all fancy and elaborate? Or keep things simple? Or…" His voice trailed off, "I just don't know, Bud," Harm paused for a moment before continuing with his worries, "I mean, you asked, and you kept it simple, and Harriet said yes, and you two are happy. But, I mean, what if Mac wants something fancier or more romantic or planned out? What if she says no? What if-"

"Sir," Bud stopped him, "You can go over what-ifs all day. But you won't know until you ask. And, I really don't think the Major will care how you propose, she'll love whatever you do."

Harm sighed, "But it's so damn nerve-wracking."

Bud chuckled, "Trust me, I know, sir," their conversation fell silent again, "This is really great. I'm so happy for the both of you."

Harm smiled, "Thanks, Bud. Just, would you mind not telling anyone? I really want it to be a surprise for Mac, and-"

"Don't worry, sir, your secret is safe with me," Bud replied with a grin.

Harm gave a short, relieved chuckle and took a deep breath.

Bud, still sensing that Harm was nervous out of his mind, said, "Really, sir, things will be fine."

Harm rolled his eyes, "Yeah, easy for you to say. You've already done this."

"Yeah, I have. So maybe you should believe me."

Harm looked at the junior officer skeptically, "Would you want to have to do it again, Lieutenant?"

"No, sir," Bud gave a short laugh, "It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever done," he admitted.

Both officers laughed at this.

Bud sobered and then added, "But sir, it was so worth it."

Harm smiled and nodded. "Thanks for the advice, Bud."

"Anytime, sir."

-

Harm was lost in his thoughts for the rest of the afternoon. He kept going over different proposal ideas. None seemed right. He had pretty much ruled out something huge and fancy, though. That just didn't seem like Mac. Simple. He should keep it simple, he decided. Simple was good. Simple kept him sane. He kept trying to shake his worries off as he worked through a mound of paperwork and cases, but it was no use, thoughts kept creeping back into his head. So it was almost a relief when his office phone rang.

"Rabb," he said shortly into the phone.

"_Hey Harm,"_ the voice of his favorite marine floated through the line.

His spirits rose when he heard her voice. "Hey!"

Mac chuckled, obviously amused at his excitement. _"So I'm going to be running a little late tonight,"_ she said, _"Can you pick Josh up? I just left Quantico, and traffic is hell right now. I-95 is frickin' bumper to bumper." _Harm heard a car horn in the background, _"Oh, come on!" _Mac yelled on the other end of the phone, but Harm knew it wasn't directed at him. _"Seriously?! Move out the way! You son of a-"_

"Whoa there marine, take it easy," Harm tried to calm her down.

"_Sorry. It's these idiots that can't drive. They're infuriating!"_ Mac growled. _"So can you pick Josh up?"_

"Yeah, sure, I can pick him up," Harm wedged the phone between his shoulder and his ear and looked around his desk to start tidying things. He furrowed his brow, "What time is it anyway?"

"_1655."_

"Jeez, when did it get so late?" Harm must have really gotten lost in his thoughts.

"_Time flies when you're having fun."_

"Huh, yeah," he muttered.

"_So anyway, I'll see you later, okay? I shouldn't be too late."_

"Okay, Mac. Drive safe, please."

"_Aye, aye. Don't worry."_

" Love you."

"_Love you too. Bye."_

"Bye," Harm replied, waited until the line went dead on the other end, and hung up. He scratched his head as he pushed some files to the other side of his desk. He didn't feel like being organized right now, he had too much other stuff to worry about. Grabbing his cover, keys, and briefcase, he turned off the lights in his office and walked through the bullpen.

"You're leaving earlier today, Commander," the admiral said as he walked alongside Harm through the office. He was also going home.

"Yes, sir. Mac's running late. Got to go pick up Josh," Harm explained as they entered the elevator, "And probably figure out something to cook for dinner," he added, more to himself than to his CO.

The admiral bobbed his head in acknowledgment, and the two men stood in silence waiting for the elevator to reach the bottom floor. "Well, have fun with that, Rabb," the admiral replied shortly.

"Okay… sir," Harm said, but the admiral was already walking away. Harm shook his head in confusion. That man stumped him sometimes.

-

Josh watched Harm cook dinner from the kitchen table. Harm dropped something into a sizzling pan and backed up a few steps until it calmed down. He eyed the food carefully before poking the newly added ingredients around with a spoon. Harm's distant expression made Josh wonder about him. "Is something wrong, daddy?" Josh asked with a quizzical expression.

Harm looked at him from across the kitchen, "No, bud, nothing's wrong. I just have a lot on my mind."

Josh bobbed his head once and turned his focus back to his homework. "Is something bad happening?" he asked after a few minutes.

"No, Josh, nothing bad is happening. Why would you think that?"

"Cuz you look so sad."

Harm smiled and walked across the room to sit next to him at the table. "I'm not sad."

"So then what's wrong?" Josh cocked his head to the side as he waited for a response.

Harm thought for a moment to try to figure out how to explain his worries to Josh. "Have you ever had something you want to say, but you were nervous to?"

Josh frowned in concentration, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, that's how I feel."

Josh looked puzzled, "Well, is it something bad?"

"No, it's good. I think… or, I hope," Harm struggled to choose the right wording.

"So then just say it," Josh replied, as if it was the most obvious thing to him.

Harm grinned and lightly patted Josh's shoulder, "Thanks." Harm had to admit, the kid was probably right. Josh smiled at him proudly just as the door to the apartment opened. They both turned to see Mac enter the living room.

"Hey," Harm stood up and grinned, "You're home."

"Finally," Mac said as she dumped her stuff on the couch until later when she felt like picking it up.

"Mommy!" Josh leapt from the table and ran to her.

Mac smiled. "Hey squirt," she said happily as Josh hugged her legs. She bent down and kissed the top of his head a few times, "How was your day?"

"Fine," the boy answered, looking up at his mother with a smile, "I was helping daddy cook dinner."

Mac sniffed the air, "Mmm, I smell it. Smells good." She looked at Harm who was still by the table.

He walked over, wrapped her into a tight hug, and kissed her cheek, then her neck. "How was _your _day?" he asked while still holding her.

"Long," Mac answered with a small chuckle. She squeezed Harm. "It's good to be home." She kissed him again before pulling back. "Do I have time for a shower before dinner?" she asked, "I feel disgusting."

"Absolutely," Harm said with a smile.

"Great," she seemed relieved and started walking towards her bedroom. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Take your time," Harm called after her.

-

A few hours later, after the day was done and Josh was sound asleep, Harm and Mac lay facing each other on their sides in bed, simply relaxing in each other's presence. Mac had a hand pressed up lightly against Harm's chest, and he had an arm draped over her waist. Mac sighed happily as he stroked her back. They smiled to each other as Mac's eyes slowly closed. Harm watched her for a while in silence. He knew she was surely the most beautiful thing in the world, and the present moment felt like one of the most perfect moments. He wanted _this_ for them, forever. There were no pressures, no worries, there was just peace and love.

"Mac," he said almost in a whisper.

"Hm?" her eyes fluttered back open and she smiled softly.

"I love you," Harm murmured.

Mac moved her hand that was on his chest to caress his cheek, "I love you too."

Harm wasn't sure of what he was doing, but it felt right, "Sarah."

She became a little more alert at his use of her given name.

"Will you marry me?" he asked, in the gentlest voice Mac had ever heard him use.

Mac's eyes flew open as her breath caught, and the mere second or two of silence felt like an eternity to Harm. "Yes," she answered with a tear threatening to run down her cheek, "Yes, of course I'll marry you Harm." A wide grin crept up on her face.

Harm let out his breath and he smiled as his spirit soared. "You will? Really?" he wanted to be sure he understood her correctly.

Mac laughed and moved herself closer to him. "Yes!" she chuckled and captured his lips in a kiss. Harm hugged her body to him as tight as he could as they kissed.

"My god, Mac, we're getting married," he said with excitement and amazement when he realized what had just taken place.

Mac laughed openly and squirmed. "I know!" tears of joy were now freely flowing down her cheeks. Mac usually wasn't one to cry out of happiness, but in this case, she couldn't help it.

Harm pulled her into another kiss full of love, excitement, and sheer joy. "Do you want to see your ring?" he asked when their lips parted.

Mac looked surprised, "You have it?"

"Yes."

She squirmed, "Well then, yeah! Of course I want to see it!" she giggled.

Harm smiled, "Hang on a second."

Mac nodded eagerly and sat up in bed. She turned the lamp on as she watched Harm dig through one of his bags. As he walked up to her with the black velvet box, she couldn't hide her wide smile, nor did she want to.

Harm crawled onto the bed and stood up on his knees in front of her. He popped the lid open to reveal the ring and decided to do things properly, "Sarah Mackenzie, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Mac nodded excitedly, once again. "YES!" she exclaimed.

Harm laughed and slipped the ring out of the box and smoothly onto her left hand.

Mac admired the ring. Several smaller diamonds nestled against the larger, stunningly cut, crystal clear stone. The white-gold band shone brightly in the light. The ring was a perfect mix of elegance and timelessness. "It's beautiful, Harm," she said in awe.

He smiled, "You like it?"

"Are you kidding? It's gorgeous! I _love_ it," she stared down at the glistening object that was now on _her_ hand. _Hers_.

"It's a family ring," Harm said, "My grandmother's. I hope you don't mind. Because if you do, I mean we can go pick out something new. I'd unders-" He was silenced by Mac's lips.

"Harm, I _love_ the ring. _Love _it," she said, "And it being a family ring just makes it more special. I wouldn't trade it for anything," she assured him, "Are you sure your grandmother would want me to have it?"

"Yes, Mac, I am absolutely, one hundred percent positive she would want you to have it," Harm said.

Mac smiled and pulled Harm down on the bed by wrapping an arm around the back of his neck. "I love you Harm," she said as she stared into his eyes.

"I love you too, Sarah, _so_ much," he replied.

Mac grinned mischievously as she reached to turn the lamp off. In the darkness, excited laughter filled the room. It was time for celebrating.

_

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_To be Continued…_


	30. The Admiral Has a Cat and It Wears Pants

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers. _

_A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer. It's been done for a while, but I wasn't sure how I wanted this story to end. I didn't know if I wanted to end this chapter, or the next, or whatever, but I decided to have one more chapter after this one. So, this is the second to last chapter, but, there will be a sequel! Anyway, enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews! _

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**0600 Local Time**

**Tuesday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Harm reached over Mac and slammed the alarm clock to the floor, causing it to turn off as it fell. "Such a despicable invention," he muttered as he sank back down into his warm, comfortable spot in bed next to Mac. She buried her face into his chest.

"Harm," she said quietly a few minutes later, "We can't fall back asleep. We have work."

He groaned. "Do I have to?"

Mac chuckled, "Yes, Harmon, you do."

Harm groaned again and rolled onto his back.

"We have work, and Josh has school, and-," she paused. Looking down at her newly acquired ring, she smiled, "- and last night wasn't a dream."

Harm smiled also and rolled back onto his side to face her. He shook his head, "No, it wasn't."

Mac ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm so happy."

"Me too," Harm agreed and kissed her gently.

She held her hand out in front of herself and admired how the ring sparkled in the dim light coming through the curtains. "I guess we are going to have to tell people our plans today," she said.

"M-hm," Harm replied, falling back asleep.

"One of us is going to have to leave JAG," she said, just realizing it.

Harm opened one eye and looked at her, "Don't worry Mac, it'll work. The admiral won't let us down." He chuckled shortly, "He probably already has a contingency plan just for this situation."

Mac smiled, "Probably." After a few minutes of silence, Harm had almost fallen back asleep. Mac, on the other hand, was wide awake. She laughed and asked, "So how long do you think it is going to take Harriet to notice the ring."

"Not long," Harm mused with his eyes closed.

"I think she'll notice almost immediately," Mac decided after some thought.

Harm chuckled, "You're probably right."

Mac smiled and watched him lie next to her before convincing herself to get out of bed. She kissed his forehead, "I'm going to go put the coffee on."

Harm nodded, "Okay, I'll be there in a few."

Mac slid out from under the covers, located her robe, and slipped out the bedroom. She gave another glance down at the ring on her hand and the man in her bed. Things were perfect.

-

Mac smiled up at Harm as they stood in the elevator. "You ready for this?" Mac asked, referring to the rush of questions, congratulations, etc, etc, that they were going to receive upon breaking the news to their JAG friends.

Harm took a deep breath and chuckled, "Let's hope." He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his lips.

Their eyes met into a loving gaze. As the elevator doors slid open, Mac laughed shakily. "Brace yourself," she said.

They had prepared a plan on the car ride to work. They were planning to sneak into their offices to drop their stuff off before heading straight to the admiral's office. Then, they would go from there. Everything should work out smoothly, as long as Mac didn't flash her ring around too much.

They glanced around the bullpen upon their entrance. To their surprise and relief, Bud, Harriet, and quite a bit of the other staff hadn't even arrived yet. Good, the marriage hadn't even started and things were already working in their favor. After dropping their things off, they walked to their CO's office.

Tiner snapped up straight upon their entrance. "Good morning, sir, ma'am," he said, "Here to see the admiral?"  
Mac nodded, "You guessed it, Tiner."

The petty officer smiled, "Just a minute." After Tiner let the admiral know, Harm and Mac entered the office with a few deep breaths.

Their CO looked up as they entered. Mac slipped her hands behind her back, really not wanting him to see the ring until they told him. Seeing their expressions, the admiral sighed. "It's never good when you two walk in together this early in the morning. Have a seat," he motioned to the chairs.

Harm and Mac smiled at each other before sitting down. They sat in silence for a moment. Neither wanted to start.

"Well?" the admiral asked, "Did you need something or not?"

"Yes, sir, sorry," Harm spoke up. "Uh, we have news, sir."

The admiral leaned back in his chair. "Here we go," he muttered. "What kind of news?" he asked.

Mac pursed her lips and decided how to attack the subject, "Recent developments, sir."

The admiral nodded his head, indicating them to continue.

"Sir, we are, uh," Harm struggled to say it.

"Getting married, sir. We're engaged," Mac filled in for Harm. She lifted up her hand to show him the ring, and offered a smile.

"Oh," the admiral said, with a blank expression. "Well then, congratulations," he added, and to Harm and Mac's surprise, their CO grinned widely. "I'm happy for you both."

Harm raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Mac, who shared his shocked expression. "Thank you, sir."

"Now, why don't either of you look happy?" the admiral asked.

Mac let out a small laugh, "Well, to be honest, sir, we were rather nervous about telling you."

"Never be nervous about telling someone good news, Major," he responded.

Mac chuckled, "Aye, sir."

The admiral smiled at her before saying, "Now, on to the topic neither of you want to think about. As you know, I can't have both of you in the same chain of command if you are married."

Harm nodded, "Yes, sir, we understand that, and we are prepared to hear any suggestions."

"Well, obviously, one of you can resign your commission," the admiral said and upon seeing the disappointed expressions on his officers' faces he continued, "But, I know how much the service means to the both of you, and there just happens to be an opening in the Judiciary branch."

"Judiciary, sir?" Mac asked, "I'm not sure either of us are qualified for the position."

The admiral shook his head, "Well I do." He studied the two officers, who still seemed unsure. "Mac, I happen to think you'd make a damn good judge."

"Thank you, sir," she replied tentatively.

He nodded and continued, "And, although I didn't want to spoil the surprise, your promotion to Lieutenant Colonel is imminent."

Her eyes grew wide at this. "Really, sir?"

The older man chuckled, "Yes, Mac."

Mac looked at Harm who was equally excited and proud.

"So," the admiral said, "It's a position I'd like you to consider. It'd keep you in the building. You wouldn't have to leave at the drop of at the drop of a hat nearly as often, and you'd still get to battle it out in the courtroom with the Commander."

Everyone chuckled lightly at this. "Sir, if you think this is the best plan, then I'm all for it," Mac said. "What do you think, Harm?"

He smiled, "Sounds great."

The admiral bobbed his head with satisfaction. "Perfect. Well, it's nothing we have to take care of today, but we'll just need to get you transferred before you two make things official."

"Thank you so much, sir. Your advice means a lot to us," Mac said.

Her CO shook his head, "Don't mention it, Mac. I've had this planned out since I found out you two were living together."

"Well, we aren't actually living together, sir. I mean, I still have my apartment, and I stop by to check on things at least twice a week, and-" Harm was cut off by the admiral.

"Yeah, and my cat wears green pants," he barked. "Her son calls you daddy, you cook dinner in the evening, you sleep in her bed, and you come to work together the next morning. If that's not living together, I don't know what is."

Mac blushed and bit her lip.

Harm was also flustered, "… Yes, sir," he replied, not even attempting to think of another response.

The admiral rolled his eyes and continued, "Anyway, I am _very_ happy for the both of you. Let me know when and where; I expect a save-the-date. Understood?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"Of course," Harm and Mac replied at the same time.

"Good. Now go to work."

They snapped up on their feet, "Aye sir."

"Congratulations again," the admiral said as they walked out.

They smiled and thanked him. After his office was empty again he laughed. "Well, good for them," he said to himself.

-

"That went well," Harm said as they walked back to their offices.

"I think it went very well," Mac agreed. They came upon Bud and Harriet in the bullpen as they walked past.

"Morning ma'am, sir," Bud said.

"Good morning," Mac replied.

"When did you two get in, ma'am?" Harriet asked, "We didn't see you come in."

"We were with the admiral," Mac explained. Without thinking, she reached up to scratch her nose with her left hand.

She knew exactly what she had done when she saw Harriet's jaw drop. "Oh my gosh, ma'am!" the woman exclaimed, "Are you engaged?!" she squealed while grabbing Mac's hand to look at the ring. Harriet was already sure of the answer to her question when she saw the look on Harm's face.

Mac nodded with a blush, "Yeah."

Harriet grinned widely and hugged Mac tightly. "Aw, ma'am, this is _so_ great. Congratulations. I'm SO happy for you!"

"What about me?" Harm teased.

Harriet pulled back from Mac and looked at him. She hugged him too. "I'm so excited for _both _of you!"

"Congratulations," Bud said with a grin almost as wide as Harriet's, "This is really great."

"Thank you," Mac said with a smile.

Harm snaked an arm around Mac's waist. He hoped the admiral might cut them a little slack today. "We think it's pretty great too," he said as he looked into her eyes. She melted into his embrace, and wished that they weren't at work, because that look he gave her demanded attention other than what she could give in the middle of the JAG bullpen.

Harriet's heart just about died from an overload of excitement. "Ma'am, we just _have _to talk!" the ensign practically begged Mac.

Mac rolled her eyes and smiled. "Okay, Harriet," she gave in, "I suppose we can have girl talk in my office for a few minutes before I get to my work."

Harriet smiled and clasped her hands together.

"You boys be good," Mac wiggled a finger between Harm and Bud. "Talk about manly things."

Both men chuckled and watched the women walk to Mac's office.

Bud lightly slapped Harm's shoulder. "I told you you could do it, sir."

Harm nodded, "You were right, Bud."

The younger officer smiled.

"Have you ever been in a wedding?" Harm asked, "Besides your own, of course," he added as an afterthought.

Bud's face morphed into a look of concentration. "A _very_ long time ago, sir. I was the ring bearer in a cousin's wedding. But I was like five or six. I don't really remember. Apparently, though, I was the only cute, chubby little boy available."

Harm chuckled, "Well, how would you like a promotion?"

"Sir?" Bud looked confused.

"Would you like to be my Best Man, Bud?"

Bud smiled, "It would be an honor, sir."

-

Harriet sat down on one of Mac's office chairs as Mac sat behind her desk. "There is so much to talk about, ma'am."

Mac nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I suppose there is. But first thing's first."

"What's that ma'am?"

"Harriet, I'd be very happy if you were my matron of honor."

"Really, ma'am?" Harriet asked, and upon seeing Mac give a small nod, she added, "Of course, ma'am! I'd love to! Thank you!"

"Thank _you_, Harriet." Mac smiled.

"So did y'all tell Josh yet, ma'am?"

"Of course," Mac answered, "He was the first one we told."

"And how'd that go?"

"He is perfectly fine with the idea," Mac chuckled and remembered how they told him earlier that morning…

---Flashback---

_Harm and Mac watched Josh eat breakfast from the other side of the kitchen. _

"_We need to tell him, Harm," Mac said. _

_Harm nodded and looked down at her, "Yeah."_

_They both approached him and sat across from him at the table. He looked up at them as they sat down, his spoon halfway to his mouth. _

"_Hey, Josh, we have something to tell you." Mac started. _

_He blinked, "What?"_

"_Well, Josh, uh, your mother and I have decided to get married," Harm said, all the while sending prayers that things would go well. _

_Josh lifted his chin, "Oh, okay."_

"_Now what that means, hon, among other things, is that Harm will be living with us," Mac said. _

_Making no attempt to be funny, Josh asked, "What has he been doing?"_

_Harm and Mac both chuckled. "He'll be with us forever, hon," Mac said, "You know, like how it is with Bud and Harriet."_

_Josh nodded, "I know."_

"_And you're okay with it, right?" Harm asked. _

_The boy glanced from side to side, "Yeah…" After a moment of awkward silence Josh asked, "Is something wrong?"_

"_No, hon, nothing is wrong. We just didn't know if you would be okay with the idea."_

"_But, daddy already lives here, and this just means he won't leave, right?"_

_Mac nodded, "Right."_

"_Why wouldn't I be okay with that?"_

"_Well, you see, Josh, when my mom got remarried after we lost my father, I was rather upset with her and my stepfather for… a very long time," Harm said, "I just want to make sure that you don't feel the same way."_

_Josh nodded, understanding, "I'm fine."_

"_You are?" Harm asked, not believing it would be this easy._

"_Yes," Josh replied. _

_Mac let out her breath. "Good."_

_Josh chuckled a little at the adults, thinking it a bit funny to see his parents so nervous._

_Harm and Mac glanced at each other. Harm squinted his eyes, "What are you laughing at Mr. Philips?"_

_Josh smiled, "You."_

---End Flashback---

Harriet reached across Mac's desk and grabbed her hand, wanting a closer look at the ring. "It is _beautiful_, ma'am."

Mac nodded and smiled, "It was his grandmother's."

"That's just _so _romantic," Harriet sighed with a blissful look on her face. "So, how did he propose? Knowing the Commander it was probably perfect."

Mac nodded, "It was perfect."

"Well then spill it, ma'am." Harriet prodded.

Mac chuckled, "Okay. Let's see. It was last night. Josh was already asleep, and we were in bed-"

Harriet cut Mac off, "Wait, he proposed _in bed_?"

Mac's eyebrows shot up, "No, no, no, Harriet! Not like that!" She waved her hands to stop Harriet's train of thought. "No, we had both had a long day, and we were falling asleep, and things were so peaceful, and that's when he asked." Mac continued. "Of course, that kind of woke us up a bit," Mac chuckled.

"Aww, that _is _perfect, ma'am," Harriet seemed in awe, "So sweet."

"Yeah," Mac agreed happily with a nod.

"What about the wedding ma'am? When will it be? Long engagement? Short engagement? Big wedding? Small wedding? Military wedding? Traditional? Outside? Inside? Summer wedding? Fall wedding?"

Mac laughed in amazement, "I have no idea yet, Harriet! We just got engaged last night! We haven't had a chance to talk about the details. Though I really don't think either of us want a long engagement. And it probably won't be a huge wedding, you know, keep it simple and sweet."

Harriet smiled, "That sounds nice ma'am. I'm just so excited for you!"

"I'm very excited too, Harriet."

"Can I just make one request ma'am?" Harriet asked.

Mac shrugged, "Sure."

"_Please_ let me have this baby first!" Harriet said placing a hand on her huge belly.

Mac chuckled, "Absolutely, Harriet. I remember the last month or two when I was carrying Josh, so I can definitely sympathize."

Harriet let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" she said before getting that gleam in her eye that Mac knew all too well. "So are there any more babies in your future, ma'am?"

Mac half expected this question eventually, from someone. She should have figured it would have come from Harriet- the morning after she got engaged. Mac chuckled a little until she could think of a response, "I, uh, we haven't really talked about it Harriet. I mean, it's… it's a definite possibility, you know, I think we both want another kid, in the future, probably."

Harriet sighed blissfully. "This is great ma'am."

Mac laughed, "Yeah… things have been good ever since Josh came back, and then, you know, things got even better when Harm and I started dating, but now, things are just so _perfect_."

Harriet shook her head slowly in awe, "I'm so happy for you, ma'am."

Mac smiled. For once, she could honestly say that she was happy for herself too.

* * *

_To be Continued…_


	31. From Carriers to Caravels

_Please see previous chapters for disclaimers. _

_A/N: So, you probably all think I dropped off the face of the Earth. Well, I am here to tell you that I have not, and I am SO sorry that it took forever long to get this chapter out. As this is the last chapter of the story, I wanted it done well, so I thought it better to take my time and do things right rather than rush something out. I just sincerely hope I didn't lose too many readers in the process. For those of you that stuck around for the whole thing, Thanks!! As I said before, there will be a sequel, and there is a note about that at the end. As always, thanks for reading, and please review. This story has been a fun ride, and I couldn't have done it without all of you!_

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**0921 Local Time**

**Saturday**

**Mac's Apartment**

Harm was idly wasting time on the couch by reading a book. Mac was taking a shower, so he didn't have much to do. Just as he was flipping a page of his book, the telephone rang.

He leaned over to grab the phone and answered it, "Mackenzie Residence."

"_Commander?" _The admiral's voice came through the line.

"Yes, sir," Harm replied.

"_Oh," _the admiral muttered before continuing, _"Is the Major there?"_

"Well, she's in the shower at the moment, sir," he said, "Did you need to speak to her? I can go get her."

"_No, of course not, Commander, let the woman shower in peace. I'll call back later. It's not that important."_

"Um, okay, sir, if you're sure," Harm said just as Mac walked into the room. "Oh, wait, sir, actually, she's right here." Harm passed the phone to Mac.

She eyed him curiously as she took it from him, "Hello?" she asked tentatively.

"_Oh, Major," _The admiral said when he realized she was on the line, _"That man didn't get you out of the shower did he?"_

Mac chuckled, "No, sir."

"_Good. So, anyway, I heard that Josh's birthday is coming up."_

"Yes, sir, May 9th."

"_Well, I was wondering if you had plans yet for a party or anything."_

Mac scratched her head, "We were just going to have something small around here, sir. We'd love it if you came, sir, Bud and Harriet are coming, along with his grandparents, and a couple of his friends."

"_Major, I wasn't calling to invite myself,_" the admiral barked.

Mac bit her lip, "No, sir, I didn't mean to imply that-"

"_No, Mac, I was just calling to see if you might be interested in an offer I received," _the admiral cut her off.

"What kind of offer, sir?" Mac wasn't really sure where this was going.

"_The skipper of the USS Enterprise is an old buddy of mine. We were talking the other day, just catching up. Well, the Enterprise is going to be docked at Norfolk on Josh's birthday, with just a skeleton crew on board. If you are interested, the mess hall could be used for a party. He said that someone would also be available to give a tour, and Commander Rabb could pop Josh up in one of the airplanes for a picture and whatnot."_

Mac's jaw dropped, "Really, sir? That'd be possible?"

"_Yes, Mac."_

"Sir, that would be amazing! I mean, we were planning on an airplane theme anyway, but, sir, _this_ would be just… awesome."

"_Consider it done then, Major," _the admiral replied, a smile apparent in his voice.

"Oh, gosh, sir, thank you! Seriously, this will mean so much to him! I'm going to owe you big time now, huh?"

"_Nah, at least, no more than you already do,"_ he teased.

Mac chuckled, "Thank you, sir. It's going to be really special for him."

"_Don't mention it, Major. I'll see you and the Commander Monday. Enjoy your weekend."_

"You too, sir. Bye."

"_Bye," _and with that, the line went dead.

Mac pressed the 'end' button on the phone and dropped down onto the couch with an open mouth smile.

Harm cocked an eyebrow. "What was that all about?"

Mac, still in awe, replied, "The admiral just made my day."

-

**0901 Local Time**

**May 9****th**

**Mac's Apartment**

"So is everyone meeting us there, or what?" Harm asked Mac as he looked in the mirror to adjust his collar.

"Yep," Mac nodded, "Well, everyone except his grandparents," Mac amended. "They should be here any minute."

Harm let out a shaky breath.

Mac chuckled, "What's that for?"

"I've never met his grandparents."

"You'll be fine! They're angels!" Mac assured him. She heard a loud giggle from Josh's room where he was playing with his friends, who had all arrived a few minutes earlier.

Harm sat down on the edge of the bed, and nervously bit at his thumbnail. "I'm not worried about _me_ liking _them; _I'm worried that _they _won't like _me._"

Mac frowned and sat next to him. She rubbed his back, "That won't be the case, Harm,_ trust _me."

Harm eyed her skeptically.

"It's not like they are _my _parents, which I assure you would be much, much more frightening," Mac continued with a smile.

"Yeah, but these people are important to you, Mac. What if they don't want me raising their grandson?"

"Harm," Mac shook her head, searching for words, "You've just got to trust me, okay? It's not going to be like that, I promise."

Harm sighed and nodded, "Okay. Just… what do I say?"

Mac furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to act around them, Mac."

"Act like yourself," Mac smiled and moved her face close to his, "No one can resist the charms of Harmon Rabb." She wrapped a hand around the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.

"I'll try," he said with a grin after they pulled apart. Just then, there was a knock at the front door and the scamper of small feet from Josh's room. Before Harm and Mac could even stand up, they heard the door open.

"Gramma! Grampa!" Josh squealed. Excited greetings and conversation followed, as Harm and Mac stood up and left the bedroom. Harm took a deep breath as they neared the living room. Mac placed a hand on his back as they walked to reassure him.

"Sarah!" Josh's grandmother exclaimed from the doorway. Josh smiled widely from where he was perched on his grandfather's shoulders.

Mac grinned, "Lydia! Paul!" she walked into the woman's arms and they hugged each other tightly. Josh's grandfather put Josh back on the ground before also hugging Mac.

"How have you been, hon?" Lydia asked.

"I've been great. What about yourselves?" Mac replied.

"Just fine, dear."

Mac smiled and lightly touched Harm's chest, "Paul and Lydia Philips, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, Commander Harmon Rabb Jr.," Mac made the introductions.

Harm grinned with all his usual charm and reached out to shake hands with the older couple, "Nice to meet you, ma'am, sir."

"Nice to meet you too, son," Paul said, returning the handshake.

"Josh has told us so much about you," Lydia smiled warmly.

Harm chuckled and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, he has, has he?" He glanced down at the boy, "Nothing good, I hope," he teased.

"Sorry, Commander, all good, I'm afraid," Lydia replied with a chuckle.

Josh tugged on Mac's shirt and interrupted the conversation, "Momma, when are we gonna go? Everyone's gonna get there before we do."

Mac looked down at her son, "Josh, don't worry. You _will not_ be late for your own party."

The adults chuckled at this. "How many people are you expecting there to be, Sarah?" Lydia asked.

"Uh, let's see," Mac looked up at the ceiling as she mentally counted the guests, "There's you and Paul, Harm and myself, Josh, of course, Sullivan and Patrick," Mac said as she indicated the two other young boys standing next to Josh, "Admiral Chegwidden, Bud, Harriet, the skipper of the Enterprise and any other crew members on board that want cake," she chuckled, "Um… some other people from JAG might show up… so, quite a crowd," Mac smiled.

"Wow, Josh, you're a popular little man," his grandfather teased.

Josh nodded, "Momma, can we go now? Pleeease?" the boy begged.

Mac sighed and gave in, "Yes, Joshua, I suppose we can. Take Sully and Patrick and get all of your things together."

Josh grinned and he and his friends all ran back to his room to get their personal belongings.

Paul glanced around the apartment and folded his arms, "So where is this dog that I've heard rumors about?"

Mac chuckled, "Ahh, the dog is currently in hiding at Bud and Harriet's house until this evening."

"Gosh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when you give it to him," Lydia said, clasping her hands together.

"Neither can I," Mac agreed. She looked up at Harm who smiled down at her.

The boys soon stampeded back into the living room, "Okay, we're all ready! Let's go!"

"Well, okay, then," Mac said as she opened the door, "Onward march." The boys filed out of the apartment in an excited, yet, orderly manner. Seeing that the kids were going to get to the parking lot first, Mac added, "We're taking Harm's SUV, Josh."

"Kay!" Josh called back down the hallway.

The pure excitement in the children made all of the adults laugh as they, too, made their way downstairs. The ride to Norfolk was filled with various conversations. The boys chatted happily among themselves while the adults also carried out their own conversations. Despite her seemingly unworried assurances to Harm that the Philips would like him, Mac didn't exactly know what to expect, and was very relieved to find that her fiancée, was, indeed, easily accepted. They got along well, Paul taking an apparent interest in Harm's piloting years, and Lydia simply amazed with his outstanding character. Therefore, the car ride was not at all unpleasant, nor was the whole situation in general. This made Mac very happy.

-

When they got to Norfolk, there was already a crowd of various guests waiting on the dock next to the carrier. The admiral, Bud, and Harriet were among the people, along with other familiar faces and some others that Mac did not recognize, and assumed to be part of the Enterprise's crew.

Josh stared out the window, "See momma, there's lotsa people here already!"

Mac chuckled, "They aren't even on the ship yet, silly."

As soon as Harm placed the vehicle in park, Josh and his friends hopped out and ran across the dock.

Mac laughed and called to her son, "Walk, Josh!"

The boys' pace immediately slowed to a walk, a brisk walk, but a walk, nonetheless.

When the adults finally caught up, Mac greeted the admiral and introduced Josh's grandparents.

The admiral walked a few steps to the side and pulled aside an older man in uniform. "Major Mackenzie, I'd like you to meet the skipper of the Enterprise, and a very good friend of mine, Captain Jon Stanley."

Mac smiled widely, "Sir, it's so good to meet you. I just can't thank you enough for allowing us to use the carrier. It means _so _much, sir."

Captain Stanley chuckled, "Major, it's absolutely no trouble at all. The admiral and I go way back, and he just raves about you." Mac glanced at the admiral with raised eyebrows. Her CO quickly diverted his eyes to a nonexistent something off the horizon. "So, when he mentioned your marine, navy, ship, plane loving son had a birthday coming up, I couldn't resist. And besides, I like cake," he added with a chuckle.

"Well, sir, I am forever in your debt. This is very special. Thank you," Mac grinned and glanced behind her to look for Harm. She tugged him forward. "Harm, this is-"

"Captain Stanley," Harm finished Mac's introduction with a wide smile. He shook the man's hand warmly, "It's nice to see you again, sir."

"Do you know everyone?" Mac asked Harm with a chuckle.

Harm shrugged. "Guess so," he teased.

Captain Stanley smiled, "So, Major, the admiral tells me that you are marrying this wild thing, huh?"

Mac laughed and linked arms with Harm, "Yes, sir."

The captain shook his head and chuckled, "Good luck with that."

Mac grinned up at Harm, who looked very happy today. She glanced around for Josh. When she saw him, she motioned him forward. "Come here, hon." Josh eagerly bounded forward and came to a stop next to his mother. He looked up at her with a smile. "This is Captain Stanley, Josh. He is the skipper of the Enterprise."

Josh reached up to shake the man's hand, "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Josh Philips. Thank you for letting me borrow your ship."

The older man smiled warmly, "You are very welcome, Mr. Philips." He glanced at his watch, "And I think, if everyone is ready, we can go aboard now."

Josh's eyes shone with excitement. That look of pure, childlike joy alone made Mac's day.

-

The mess hall was well decorated with brightly colored crepe paper, balloons, and a 'Happy Birthday Josh' banner. The normally dull tables were covered in festive tablecloths. Guests began to pile their gifts on one end of a table, and Mac could swear she caught a glimpse of a very large cake behind the serving line in the kitchen.

"Sir, surely this is too much. I mean.. it's _amazing_," Mac muttered to the admiral.

"Nonsense, major," the admiral smiled, "If it makes you feel any better, the petty officers who helped decorate got out of cleaning the heads."

Mac chuckled, "Remind me to thank them, sir."

Before lunch and cake, a tour of the ship was given. Some of the guests, like Josh's grandmother, Harriet, and the admiral, stayed behind, but the majority of the guests were just as curious about the ship as Josh and the other little boys were.

"That was so cool!" Josh exclaimed as he bounded back into the mess hall.

The skipper smiled, "What was your favorite part, Josh?"

Josh bit his lip and thought, "Well, the bridge was really cool. I also really like the hangar." He grinned, "But when do we get to see the planes, sir?"

The skipper gave a light chuckle, "How about after lunch, huh?" he looked down at Josh who nodded in agreement. Turning to Mac he added, "You better watch it, Major, Commander Rabb is rubbing off on your boy here."

Mac laughed, "That's old news, sir." She glanced over at Harm who was doing his best to look innocent. The conversation was interrupted by a booming voice.

"Lunch is here!" the admiral said, carrying quite a few large pizza boxes into the room. Bud closely followed him with more.

"Pizza!" Josh jumped off of the chair he was sitting on next to his grandmother and ran to his mother. "Pizza?"

Mac leant down and kissed the top of his head, "Well, that's your favorite, right?"

Josh nodded as the admiral spread the boxes around. "There's various kinds. Should be something for everyone. The delivery boy had a fun time," he chuckled.

Apparently, the smell of delivery pizza wafted throughout the entire carrier, as soon just about every crew member on board passed by to claim a piece and wait for cake. About an hour later, the pizza was mostly wiped out, only a small portion of the once gigantic cake remained, Josh's presents were opened, and he was dying to go up to the flight deck to see the planes.

The skipper waltzed over, "Ready to see some airplanes, Josh?"

"Yes!" Josh jumped up excitedly. The skipper led the way to the uppermost deck of the carrier, holding an enthusiastic conversation with the boy the whole way.

"I think he might have had too much sugar," Mac observed with a grin.

Harm looked down at her and smiled, "Nah, you think?"

She chuckled and leaned her weight onto him as they walked. Once they were on the flight deck, Harm had somehow taken over the lead of explaining the planes. Josh and his friends listened on with great interest, as did Josh's grandfather, Mac noted.

"Okay, I think it's only fair that the birthday boy gets to sit in the cockpit first," the skipper said, walking up towards the plane where everyone was gathered at.

"You mean we get to go in it?" One boy asked, surprised.

The skipper smiled, "Of course! Or else the tour wouldn't be complete, now would it?"

Upon seeing the skipper nod an approval, Harm showed Josh how to climb up into the cockpit and got him situated. He began to point out all the various gauges on the instrument panel. Mac smiled when the scene seemed familiar. She took a few steps back and pulled out her camera, snapping a photo which looked just like the one of little Harm and Harm Sr. Lost in her own thoughts, Mac didn't hear Josh's grandmother walk up.

"I expect a copy of that," the older woman said.

"Of course, Lydia," Mac answered warmly. They watched Harm and Josh in silence.

"You know, that's quite a man you've got, there," Lydia noted.

Mac looked at her and smiled, "Thank you, ma'am. I think he's pretty special too."

Lydia nodded, "Michael would be proud of the boy Josh has become. You've done good, dear, you know that?"

Mac glanced down at the ground. "You and Paul helped out a lot along the way. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes you could have, Sarah. You could have," Lydia said, every ounce of her confidence apparent in the tone of her voice.

Back in the cockpit, Josh was having the time of his life. "This is so cool," He commented.

Harm grinned, "I think it is too."

"Did you ever fly off of the Enterprise, daddy?"

"No, I never served on this carrier, Josh, but I've been on it before."

Josh sighed contently, "One day, I want to go on all the different ships like you."

Harm ruffled his hair, "I'm sure one day you will, Josh."

-

**1803 Local Time**

**Mac's Apartment**

**Georgetown, DC**

"This has been the best, birthday," Josh said up to his mother, later that evening after his friends had gone home. "Thank you."

Mac hugged him tightly, "You're very welcome, love." Just then she heard the knock on the door that she was expecting. "But you still have one more surprise."

Josh raised his eyebrows in shock and anticipation. Harm waltzed to the door and opened it. There stood Harriet, Bud, and a gorgeous brown and white Brittany Spaniel mix. Josh stood there in shock for a few moments. He looked up at Mac. "Is that.. mine?" he asked.

Mac nodded slowly with a smile. Josh's grin spread from ear to ear as he darted forward towards the dog. He let the dog sniff his hand, just like he had been taught, before kneeling in front and scratching the dog's ears. The dog responded by licking his face. Josh giggled happily. "Is it a boy or a girl?" Josh asked.

"A girl," Mac answered. "Me and Harm picked her out for you at the animal shelter. She's very, very friendly."

Josh smiled, "Thank you! I love her! Does she have a name?"

"She does," Mac replied, "The shelter named her Francie, but we thought you might want to rename her. Something more fitting, maybe."

Josh nodded, "Caravel."

"Like the ship?" his grandfather asked from the couch.

The boy nodded again, "Yeah, I learned about them at school and thought it was a pretty word. And she's a pretty dog, so…"

"That's a very nice name, Josh. It's perfect," Mac responded. She loved how original her son was. "Isn't it Caravel?" Mac cooed as she knelt down. The dog waggled over and sniffed eagerly all over Mac's face. Mac chuckled as she stood back up again. "Thanks for bringing her over," she said to Bud and Harriet.

"No problem, ma'am. She's gorgeous," Harriet answered. She put a hand on her belly, "But I'm exhausted, so if you don't mind, I'd really like to get home."

"Of course, Harriet," Mac pulled her friend into a gentle hug, "Thanks for everything." Mac pulled back and hugged Bud, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Drive safe, okay?"

"Will do, ma'am. See you Monday," Bud smiled and put a hand on Harriet's back to guide her out. "Bye Commander, Josh, Mr. and Mrs. Philips, it was very nice to meet you," he added with a nod of his head as they walked out. Everyone muttered their goodbyes, and the couple was gone.

Josh was still on the floor, captivated with his new dog.

Harm crouched down in front of him. "You know, she's going to be a lot of work, Josh. You are going to have to feed her and walk her. Give her baths."

Josh nodded, "I know." He hugged the animal's neck. "I'll take good care of her."

Harm patted the boy's back, satisfied with the answer he received, and stood up. "Would anyone like some coffee?" he asked, turning towards Josh's grandparents, who both replied yes. "Cool, I'll put some on." He walked to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Mac said and followed behind him. Once in the kitchen, she wrapped her arms around Harm and rested her cheek against his back. "Today was a good day," she murmured.

Harm spun around in her arms and held her tightly, "It was."

"Things are great, Harm. Everything is just falling into place." Mac said into his chest.

He buried her nose in her hair and nodded. "Yeah, things are perfect."

Mac lifted her head and looked over at Josh who was next to his grandparents on the couch, who were all playing with Caravel. "I think he likes his dog."

"He does," Harm agreed.

"I love you, Harm. I love us. I love our family."

Harm kissed her ever-so-softly, "I love you too, Sarah. I love all of those things. We're all together now. Forever."

Mac sighed contently in his arms. They stayed in that warm embrace until the coffee had finished brewing. They reluctantly pulled apart, and Harm poured the coffee into cups and brought them carefully into the living room. Mac smiled and leaned against the counter as she watched him. _All together. _They were all together now.

**---The End---**

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_Thanks for reading. Please keep your eyes peeled for the sequel, which I'm thinking will be called "All Together Now" (as the last few lines hinted at), but I'm not 100% sure. So, just keep a lookout, or add me to your author alert or something. Thanks again, guys!_


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